Berlin, Germany: A far-right group displayed a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) outside a Berlin mosque on Saturday amid a heavy police presence, while far-leftists and anti-Nazis staged a counter-demonstration.
The protest was carried by some 50 militants of the Pro Deutschland group aimed at extremists went ahead after a court allowed them to brandish copies of cartoons whose original appearance in Denmark sparked violent reactions across the globe.
The administrative court in the German capital rejected on Thursday a complaint filed by three mosque congregations ”to prevent the citizens’ movement Pro Deutschland from showing so-called Mohammed (PBUH) caricatures in front of their premises.”
”Simply showing the Mohammed (PBUh) cartoons does not qualify as a call to hatred or violence against a specific segment of the population,” the court added.
Police were bracing for clashes at the Berlin demonstrations after violence broke out during similar rallies by the extreme right against Salafists in May in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Authorities has estimated that there are about 2,500 Salafists in Germany.