New York [USA], June 11 : A right-wing group protesting Islamic law, or Sharia law, clashed with counter demonstrators in Seattle, Minneapolis and other cities.
ACT for America organized the marches in more than two dozen cities on Saturday, saying on its website that "Sharia is incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords," reports the CNN.
The anti-Sharia group rallied at City Hall Plaza while a much larger group gathered nearby. The counter-protesters yelled and sounded horns to drown out the anti-Sharia group. "Officers continued to monitor the crowds and separate the opposing groups, but shortly after 12:30 a large fight broke out.
Officers used pepper spray to break up the crowd. Officers arrested one woman and two men for obstructing," said police spokesman Mark Jamieson. Seven people were arrested at the Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota State Patrol said while in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, two people were arrested No violence was reported in New York City, where about 500 people gathered in Foley Square.
Sharia law doesn't exist in the United States, but it has always been a political issue. More than a dozen states have passed, or are trying to pass, laws to curb the possibility of Sharia law making its way onto the books in the U.S.
The anti-Sharia protest organiser in Seattle, Anthony Parish of Kent, told CNN affiliate KOMO that the group came out to show opposition to practices like the mutilation of young girls and honour killings.
He said the group was not anti-Muslim. However, the counter protest group, Seattle Stands With Our Muslim Neighbours, disagreed, saying on its Facebook page that ACT for America is "a recognized Islamophobic hate group.".
Source: ANI
