Anti-Islam Activists Hold Protest in Arizona as Part of Nationwide Rally

Some 200 activists gathered outside of mosque in Phoenix, Arizona, to protest the Islam religion as part of a series of events in front of at least 20 mosques and Islamic community centers throughout the United States, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the protest's organizer John Ritzheimer, the rally was not directed against Muslim people but "the ideology behind Islam."

“Everyday they attack humanity, it is proven daily that they do not co-exist with everyone else,” he said as quoted by the local KTAR radio on Saturday.

The rally, appeared to be the most significant among the protests that took place in the country on Saturday, was criticized by representatives of the local Muslim community.

“The community is confounded with respect as to why this guy insists to show his bigotry — him and his group,” president of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix Usama Shami said.

Phoenix police set up barricades to separate supporters of Islam from the protesters, but some minor scuffles took place, the media reported.

The rally on Saturday followed a protest in May when some 500 people gathered outside the Phoenix Islamic Community Center for two rival protests sparring about Islam.