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Anti-War Protest Turns Violent in India
HYDERABAD, Oct 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Scores of people were injured in the south Indian city of Hyderabad Friday after Muslims protesting U.S. military action against Afghanistan clashed with the police.
According to eyewitness accounts, soon after Jumuah (Friday) prayers, Muslim youth came out of the historic Mecca Masjid, located in the center of the city, and tried to initiate a rally protesting U.S. strikes against Afghanistan.
Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed at the scene responded by lodging tear gas shells and firing rubber-coated metal bullets. Demonstrators, who were pushed back into the Masjid, retaliated by pelting security personnel with stones.
The police and RAF entered the Masjid with their shoes on and beat protestors with batons, further infuriating demonstrators who said police defiled the mosque by entering the Masjid with their shoes on.
In the resulting melee, scores of youth, as well as 50 policemen, were injured, with two demonstrators serious condition after being hit with rubber-coated metal bullets.
Muslim leaders blame police for the violence and said that it could have been prevented had they allowed protestors to demonstrate peacefully.
In Delhi, a crowd of 5,000 was prevented from marching to the U.S. embassy after the police refused permission for the demonstration.
Addressing more than 10,000 congregants in the Jama Masjid, Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari denounced the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan: "The Western world has wept over the loss of U.S. lives on September 11th, but they have not shed a tear for the loss of innocent lives in Afghanistan," he said.
In the west Indian state of Bihar, tension prevailed in many cities after some youth allegedly held pro-bin Laden demonstrations. In Phulwarisharif, several businesses were gutted after armed gangs of Hindus and Muslims clashed with one other.
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