Following are excerpts from footage of an Islamist demonstration held in Tunisia in response to statements made by an unnamed Tunisian expatriate. The footage aired on the Al-Jazeera network on June 8, 2012.
Tunisian cleric Mokhtar Jbeli: "That man had the audacity to affront us and all that is sacred to us. He does not respect the Tunisian people. He must be punished. We demand that he be placed on trial and punished."
Interviewer: "Even if he apologizes?"
Mokhtar Jbeli: "Anybody who affronts the Prophet Muhammad must be punished by death, even if he repents. The punishment for heresy must be imposed upon him. Even if he repents, he must be killed, because it is the decree of Allah."
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Crowd: "Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar." […]
Mokhtar Jbeli: "Islam will be victorious, whether the atheists, the infidels, the secular, and their ilk like it or not." […]
Tunisian cleric Shihab Al-Din Tleish: "Let everybody know that for the sake of the Prophet Muhammad, we are willing to sacrifice our fathers, our mothers, and ourselves. We will be slaughtered for your sake, oh Messenger of Allah. We will not allow the Messenger of Allah to be cursed." […]
Tunisian cleric Fawzi Gara: "The secularists participated in the Tunisian revolution, as I have said on many occasions, but the revolution did not express demands for food, drink, social [reform], or freedom, as some believe. The revolution expressed true demands, pertaining to religion.
"All the peoples – not just the Tunisians, but the Moroccans, the Algerians, and all the peoples – have returned [to the fold of Islam], after years of Westernization and after years of Michael Jackson and of secular Western culture. The peoples emphasize that their salvation and glory lies in their religion. We have now seen the response of these secularists. Today, we hear of people affronting the Prophet Muhammad not from Denmark, Norway, or the West, but from among our own people." […]
