Berlin court allows Prophet (PBUH)’s cartoons to be displayed at rally

Far-right group will brandish copies of Danish cartoons during planned demonstrations outside mosques.

BERLIN: A far-right group won the right from a Berlin court Thursday to display provocative caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) during planned demonstrations outside mosques this weekend.

The administrative court in the German capital ruled that the group, Pro Deutschland, could brandish copies of Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) first published in 2005 which sparked violent protests around the globe.

Islamic law prohibits depictions of the Prophet (PBUH).

The court said it “rejected the urgent complaint filed by three Islamic mosque congregations to prevent the ‘citizens’ movement Pro Deutschland from showing so-called Mohammed caricatures in front of their premises during demonstrations on Saturday”.

It said the cartoons were protected as “artistic freedom” and could not legally be considered as abuse of a religious group.

“Simply showing the Mohammed cartoons does not qualify as a call to hatred or violence against a specific segment of the population,” the court said.

Police are bracing for clashes at the Berlin demonstrations after violence during similar protests by the extreme right against the Islamic Salafist community earlier this year in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.