On May 1, 2012, members of the German anti-Muslim Pro-NRW party staged a demonstration in which they paraded images from a "Muslim cartoon contest" near a mosque in Solingen, Germany, including Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's controversial depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.[1] Islamists who arrived on the scene sparked an altercation, attacking police officers cordoning off the Pro-NRW demonstrators, leaving three police officers and one passerby injured.[2] Subsequent Pro-NRW rallies in Cologne[3] and Bonn[4] were met with counterdemonstrations from Islamists.
Following are excerpts from a video clip of the counterdemonstration in Bonn, Germany, staged May 5, 2012, by Islamists, some of whom waved Al-Qaeda's black flag. The rally took a similar course to that in Solingen, with Islamists attacking police officers with bottles and stones, injuring 29. Some 100 Islamists were arrested by the German police.[5] The clip of the demonstration was posted on the internet the same day it was held.
Islamist: "We have come to Bonn from the city of Berlin in order to make it clear to people that [affronting] the Prophet Muhammad is where we draw the line. We love the Prophet Muhammad and are willing to sacrifice everything for him. We have come here to tell people that the Prophet Muhammad did not leave women behind him. He left men. Therefore, I call upon whoever claims to love the Prophet Muhammad to take to the streets of German cities that attack the Prophet Muhammad, curse him, and publish cartoons affronting him."
Another Islamist: "We are here to show those Nazis that we are defending the Prophet Muhammad. If they want to curse us and deride us as individuals, we don’t care, but if they wish to curse the Prophet Muhammad, I swear to God that we will not let it pass peacefully.
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"Therefore, we say to those people: Go to your homes and stay there. Do not curse our prophet, because this is where we draw the line. No one should cross that line. Otherwise, we will be willing to sacrifice our fathers, our mothers, our children, our money, and everything we own...
"Therefore, we say: Stay in your homes, you Nazis. Do not deride the Prophet Muhammad. The Jews said: 'The Prophet Muhammad died, and left behind him girls.' No, the Prophet Muhammad left behind him men. By Allah, he left men behind him..."
[1] The publication of Westergaard's cartoons in 2005 triggered violent reactions from Muslims throughout the world, resulting in numerous deaths, though Westergaard himself escaped an assassination attempt in his home. The reactions included the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan and the arson of several other Danish embassies.
[2] Der Spiegel (Germany), May 1, 2012.
[3] Der Spiegel (Germany), May 15, 2012.
[4] Der Spiegel (Germany), May 7, 2012.
[5] Associated Press, May 6, 2012.
