Muslims in Pakistan, Iran, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Niger, and now Australia have rallied against the Muhammad cartoons. We have not seen — anywhere in the world — similar rallies against jihad terrorism (the supposed “perversion” of their faith) or in favor of the freedom of speech.
“Sydney’s Muslim community rallies in Lakemba in response to terror attacks that rocked Paris,” by Andrew Carswell and Ian Walker, The Daily Telegraph, January 24, 2015 (thanks to Kenneth):
SYDNEY’S Muslim community has been urged to not turn the other cheek to “insults” and “attacks” on Islam and the prophet Muhammad.
In response to the terror attacks that rocked Paris last month, 1000 Muslims gathered in Lakemba last night.
Members of the crowd waved provocative signs that proclaimed “Je suis Muslims” — mimicking a phrase used in support of slain workers of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo — and chanted a promise to protect Muhammad and their faith.
One chant rang out: “What they say is all in vain, Muhammad’s name will remain. Our prophet we will protect.”
Some of those present handed out cartoons of a dog urinating on the grave of the Charlie Hebdo workers gunned down in their Paris office by Islamic extremists earlier this month.
Standing in front of Lakemba’s war memorial, Hizb ut-Tahrir speaker Sufyan Badar declared Muslims needed to defend Muhammad. “An attack on the prophet is indeed an attack on all Muslims,” Mr Badar said. “It is unacceptable for Muslims to remain silent when an attack comes against our prophet.“We need to defend him. Should we turn the other cheek?”
Mr Badar said that would not be considered appropriate by Allah. He said Muslims should not accept or embrace the freedom of speech preached by the West and urged those present to reject it.
As the first speech concluded, the riot squad moved in to remove two anti-Islam protesters.
There was a heavy media presence for the rally, with participants also training cameras on the crowd and the assembled journalists.
Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Hamzah Qureshi said Sydney’s Muslim community had gathered to show their love for the prophet Muhammad.
“Really it’s to show that the Muslim community in Sydney, Australia, is not OK with ridicule, is not OK with mockery and degradation of someone who is very dear to them,” he said.
“And I don’t think anyone should be expected to be OK with that. We’re not OK with the normalisation of gratuitous insult so we want to counter that with an expression of love.”