13 June, 2017
The demonstrations were held in more than two dozen USA cities, including Oceanside and San Bernardino in California as well as Seattle, New York and Chicago.
Seattle police used tear gas to disperse rowdy demonstrators and made several arrests following an anti-Shariah rally and a much larger counter-protest.
The turnout was relatively small, with rally crowds of a few dozen in many cities outnumbered nearly 10 to 1 by counter-demonstrators who tried to drown out their voices with drums, bullhorns and cowbells.
Sharia Law is a group of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims.
ACT for America organized "March Against Sharia" rallies in at least 28 cities across America on Saturday. Its founder, Brigitte Gabriel, claims that "every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim", that Muslims are a "natural threat to civilized people of the world, particularly Western society", and that a "practicing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, can not be a loyal citizen to the United States of America".
About 30 to 40 counter-protesters, many dressed in black with their faces covered, marched and then kept up a steady din of drumming and chanting across the street.
Reporters liked to note there were more counter-protesters than protesters. "Many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values".
In Seattle, the counter-protest dubbed "Seattle Stands With Our Muslim Neighbors" was far larger than the anti-Shariah demonstration.
The "March Against Sharia" rallies come amid a spike in reports of anti-Muslim incidents across the United States.
On the steps of the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg, barricades and a heavy police presence, including officers mounted on horses, separated about 60 anti-sharia demonstrators from an equal number of counter-protesters. Authorities say three people were arrested for obstructing law enforcement. "That doesn't mean we allow it today, too", Takim said.
The anti-Islam law rally and the counter protest took place across the river from the Trump International Hotel & Tower. I'll update this post when we know more.
If you drove by a street corner on Lansing's south side today, chances are you saw more than 100 protesters yelling chants and holding signs about the Muslim religion. In their view, the rallies are part of a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by President Donald Trump, who called for a ban on Muslims entering the country during his election campaign.
"I think it's unfortunate that people prey on misunderstandings and misgivings to make some members of our community less welcome", AbuTaleb said. Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News AppFatema Ahmed is Muslim and her group talked about Islamophobia and where the racist sentiments come from.
However improbable the establishment of Shariah law in America may be, ACT for America and allied groups have attracted broad populist support by vowing to stamp out the threat.
She said she expected only 10-20 to walk to the Capitol and stage a "noise protest" but that then almost the entire assembled group made the walk.