Kurds Urge Respect for Muslim Prophet in Turkey Rally

Tens of thousands of Kurds staged a protest Saturday in Turkey's southeast against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's cartoon portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed.

Some 70,000 protesters gathered in the Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir shouting slogans such as "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)," "Devils of Charlie, do not defame my prophet!" and "Damn those who say 'Je suis Charlie'."

In its first issue after a January 7 attack by Islamist gunmen on its headquarters that killed 12 people, Charlie Hebdo featured an image of the prophet weeping on its front cover. 

The image sparked outrage in some parts of the Muslim world, where many find the depiction of the prophet highly offensive.

The Diyarbakir rally was organized by a civil society group called the "Platform for those who love Prophet". Huda-Par, known to be the political extension of Turkish Hezbollah, is a member of the platform. 

Some protesters chanted: "Long live Hezbollah!" during the rally which lasted almost two hours, according to an AFP correspondent.