ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of religious and hardline activists took to the streets on Friday to demonstrate against the burning of the Holy Quran at a US airbase in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Demonstrators shouted "death to America" and called on Pakistani leaders, US allies in the Afghan war, to resign with rallies organised in Islamabad, Karachi and Multan, AFP reporters said.
In Islamabad, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) demanded that the Islamic world should review its relations with the United States.
"We will not allow Americans to ridicule our religion and our holy Holy Quran," Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri told the crowd, asking the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to convene a special session to condemn the incident.
In Karachi, hundreds of activists of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, blacklisted as a terror organisation for associations with al Qaeda, chanted "Death to America".
"There is just one remedy for America - jihad and only jihad," the crowd shouted. "Death to America, death to America's friends," echoed slogans.
The demonstrators were carrying flags with black and white stripes.
They also held up banners, one of which said: "The defeated Americans are bound to bite dust in their war against Allah and His Book."
President Barack Obama was Thursday forced to apologise for the incident, which the Afghan presidency blamed on a US officer at the Bagram airbase.
"We don't accept Obama's apology. The Muslims don't accept his apology, as it is nothing but a farce," said Naveed Qamar, the head of JuD in Karachi. "The Americans are deliberately provoking us through shameless sins," he added.
"It is now up to our rulers whether they continue to be slaves of America or become slaves of our beloved prophet."
In Afghanistan, at least 15 people, including two American soldiers, have been killed in three days of furious anti-US protests.
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We need to protest more strongly so the non muslims dont repeat theses so called mistakes. The youth needs to defend their religion the quran is the speeech of Allah! We need to defend it with our lives. We owe Allah that much at least.
Why Other Muslim Countries are not like us? They know that It's Allah who protects His Book & His House not the yelling slogans or "Crowd Pleasing" colorful banners. And for the same reason all Muslim countries have limited__ "as-needed" Islamic parties & only one or two kind of peaceful sects of Islam who are absolutely not into "Foreign & Local funding based wealth generating private mosques". Neither are other Muslim as temperamental to get excited to die on a hot-speech or two as we are in Pakistan. They also are into manipulating masses of millions jobless-sitting-around Muslims to use for their own Show-of-Power to the political opponent. They are actually amazed how we have been dutifully closing local schools & bombing local institutions like universities & colleges and burning buses & Gov't properties for Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Algeria, Somalia....the list goes on and on and on. What they don't know is we beat all Muslim countries in joblessness, illiteracy, violence, corruption so it's obviously very easy to incite the crowd for any activity on a short notice. Surprised? Remember how fast that hawker in bazaar amass a whole crowd before even he pulls his product out of his dirty sack? How did he do that? You can do that too for a living!
I read history period 12th century to 17th century in Europe and I can see Bible was treated as sensitive as Quran by the europeans and particularly during the initial years of printing Bible during 1450 to 1550 AD in mass scale. Witch Hunting and burning on stakes was a punishment meted out for many for the equivalent of current blasphemy offense in europe . But Europe has grown leaps and bounds .Muslims have started in late century and will grow out of this madness in 2100 AD..
@Mard-e-Haq: Yes you are right brother and in Arabian countries this doesn't happen because Arabian leaders are leading luxurious and kingly lives and when any modern thing is made first of all introduced in Arabian countries so that Arabian leaders and nations couldn't be risen up.
And the champions of bravery n valor have called-off their brave soldier from all ministries of Afghanistan ... How brave
In the frenzied extremist world unintentional mistakes have no place for apologies or forgiveness.
@Muhammad: " more mature than the immature muslims of south asia"
You mean Muslims of Af-Pak. I am not aware that Indian or Bangladeshi Muslims protesting.
@Muhammad: Not really. That's because they have exported their 'holiest' folks and ideology to our lands and don' need to worry about it themselves.
@Mard-e-Haq: In Saudi Arabia, you need the king's permission, even to be holy.
How come there are no protests in Saudi Arabia? It is home to Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites. Is it because the Saudis are close allies of the US?