Hundreds Protest Against Cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in Azerbaijan

Hundreds of civilians came out to the outskirts of Baku in Azerbaijan to protest against caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, demanding respect for their religion.

MOSCOW, January 21 (Sputnik) — Hundreds of people came out to the outskirts of Baku to protest against the publication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and other Western media, reports BBC.

The protestors came out of the village of Nardaran with banners saying, "Islam is not defenseless," "France is afraid of Islam", "Long live the Prophet!"

Although the protesters did not seek permission from the city authorities before organizing the demonstration, there was no police at the venue.

Demonstrators burned flags of US, France, Israel and even Armenia. They demanded the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry to voice its opinion regarding the publication of cartoons.

One of the village elders, Natiq Karimov, said that residents of Nardaran were angered by the fact that Prophet Muhammad was insulted and they demand for believers to be given respect.

Karimov on behalf of the villagers also condemned the violence in the name of religion.
"We, as Shiite Muslims, oppose terror. The preaching and actions of the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam," said Karimov, reports BBC.