Hundreds of Muslims chanted and carried banners and signs outside The Inquirer building Saturday afternoon, protesting the newspaper's decision to reprint a controversial caricature of the prophet Muhammad.
Many said they felt the paper had defamed their religion by publishing an image that has angered Muslims across the world and resulted in mass protests and the burning of embassies. Many Muslims consider any depiction of Muhammad to be sacrilegious.
"We feel very strongly the Inquirer could have covered the news without printing this inflammatory cartoon," said Zia Haq, 43, of Collegeville, Pa.
The cartoon, one of several originally published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September, depicts Islam's chief prophet with a lit bomb stuck in his turban. In ran in The Inquirer on Feb. 4 with a story about the dilemma faced by the media over reprinting the cartoon. The image was accompanied by a note, which said, in part, "The Inquirer intends no disrespect to the religious beliefs of any of its readers."
Most U.S. newspapers have opted not to publish the images.
Inquirer editor Amanda Bennett and publisher Joe Natoli meandered through the crowd, introducing themselves and thanking people for coming.
Bennett said the conversations she had were respectful. "I think this is really an opportunity to build some bridges," she said.
Bennett has said that the cartoon was reprinted "discreetly" in order to provide readers with perspective.
"I obviously believe there was a value in letting people see and judge for themselves," she said.
Demonstrators were orderly, lining both sides of Broad Street and standing on the median. A few passing cars honked in support, as people hoisted signs reading "Islam = Nonviolence, Respect and Tolerance," "Respect all prophets" and "Say no to Inquirer."
Some people passed out fliers and literature, and a series of speakers addressed the crowd on megaphones.
"We ask for an apology from The Inquirer because they knew the insult they were heaping on the Muslims," Imam Majlis Ash'Shura, of Philadelphia, told the crowd. "We're outraged at all the injuries that have taken place against Muslims across the world."
The protest was considerably larger than a demonstration outside the Inquirer building on Monday that included more than two dozen people.
