Thousands of activists from an Islamic group on Monday marched in the Bangladeshi capital, calling on the government to cut diplomatic relations with France over cartoons that depicted prophet Mohammed, police said.
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Police estimated that they halted a procession of nearly 10,000 people in central Dhaka when the activists from Hefazat-e-Islami Bangladesh, one of the largest Islamic groups, started marching towards the French embassy.
The protesters left the street peacefully after holding a rally, officer Walid Hossain said.
Security was beefed up in the diplomatic district to avert any untoward incident, he added.
Junayed Babunagari, the leader of the Islamic group, claimed the procession was much larger, with more than 100,000 people.
“We will continue the protest if the government fails to announce in 24 hours that it has severed ties with France,’’ Babunagari said, calling upon all other Islamic nations to cut ties with France.
He claimed French President, Emmanuel Macron had undermined the prophet Mohammed. He also demanded the shutting of the French mission in Bangladesh.
It was the third major protest by Islamic groups in Bangladesh after Macron condemned the Islamist killing of a school teacher who showed caricatures of Mohammed, originally published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo during a lesson on freedom of expression last month.
Macron defended the right of the magazine to publish the caricatures and the culture of satire in France, adding that France would not give up its cartoons.
Any depiction of Mohammed is forbidden in Islam and is deemed offensive by Muslims.
Bangladeshi protesters have also called upon people to boycott French products.