Muslim Protest Pictures From London-Truth! & Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
An eRumor containing pictures of Muslims marching through the streets of London during their recent ‘Religion of Peace’ Demonstration holding signs that say “Islam will dominate the world”, “Behead those who insult Islam”, “Europe is the cancer, Islam is the Answer” and “Europe, Take some lessons from 9/11.” The eRumor makes a remark about the Americans considering voting from Senator Barack Obama for President.
The Truth:
This is an old eRumor that has been circulating the internet since 2006 but in the shadow of the upcoming 2008 US Election it has increased in traffic.
The alleged quote from Barack Obama at the end of the email saying that he would “stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction” is Fiction! It is a corruption of a quote about immigrants from his book. CLICK HERE for more about the quote.
There was a demonstration by Muslims outside the Danish Embassy in London according to a BBC news article from 2/6/06. It was in protest of a Danish newspaper releasing cartoons with images “of Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban on his head.”
The article said that “Shadow home secretary David Davis said some of the messages on the placards amounted to ‘incitement to murder'”.
According to the article, Asghar Bukhari, the chairman of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, issued a statement saying that “the demonstration in London on Friday should have been stopped by police because the group had been advocating violence.” Burkari said these protesters “did not represent British Muslims” and told the BBC “The placards and chants were disgraceful and disgusting, Muslims do not feel that way.”
The BBC said that four “Muslim men have been jailed for their part in protests at the Danish embassy in London, against cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.” Each received a six year sentence “for soliciting to murder after telling a crowd to bomb the UK.” Close to 300 Muslims had been involved in the demonstration.
Click for BBC 2/6/06 article
Click for BBC 2/18/07 article
updated 10/14/08