ALGIERS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Two thousand Algerian Islamists staged a sit-in protest on Monday against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, a rare demonstration in a country still traumatised by a decade-long civil war.
"Mohammad's army will be back," demonstrators chanted repeatedly during the 2-1/2 hour protest in a gymnasium in the centre of the capital, Algiers.
Protesters burnt Danish and U.S. flags and chanted verses from the holy Koran under the watchful eyes of dozens of plain-clothed policemen.
Demonstrations have been banned in Algeria under a state of emergency imposed in 1992 after the army cancelled legislative elections an Islamist party was poised to win.
The cancellation of the vote was followed by years of civil conflict between the authorities and Islamists fighting for an Islamist state. More than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the war.
Organisers of Monday's protests called by the Islamist Mouvement pour la Societe et la Paix political party had wanted to stage a march through the streets of Algiers but obtained permission only for a sit-in.
"Let's boycott those who have insulted our Prophet. We respect all religions, and I do not understand why they are trying to humiliate us," protester Karim, 32, told Reuters.
Denmark has been the focus of Muslim rage as the images, one showing the Prophet Mohammad with a turban resembling a bomb, first appeared in a Danish daily and Muslims in the Gulf Arab region have intensified a boycott of Danish goods.
The furore has developed into a clash between press freedom and religious respect, with many world leaders advocating calm and restraint.
For Muslims, depicting the Prophet Mohammad is prohibited by Islam but moderate Muslim groups, while condemning publication of the cartoons and bridling at what they see as provocation, expressed fears about radicals and militants hijacking the affair.
In a sign that the government wanted to show understanding of the protest, the event was attended by Abdelaziz Belkhadem, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's personal representative and the leader of the National Liberation Front, the most powerful party in the ruling coalition.
The government has condemned the cartoons, but has not called for a boycott of Danish goods.
