WASHINGTON - Authorities in Phoenix, the capital of the southwestern US state of Arizona, are bracing for an anti-Islam rally by a gang of motorbikes outside an Islamic centre Friday evening, with its organizer calling for participants to come armed and draw blasphemous cartoons.
But local clergymen hope to head them off with a message of inclusivity, according to media reports from Phoenix.
The motorbikes’ protest is dubbed “Freedom of Speech Rally Round II,” a reference to outspoken anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller’s blasphemous cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, that was attacked by two gunmen earlier in May. The shooters who ambushed event, which was sponsored by Geller, a Jewish woman, attended the Phoenix mosque, Jon Ritzheimer, who organized the protest, wrote on Facebook.
He encouraged protesters to bring American flags and “any message that you would like to send to the known acquaintances of the 2 gunmen.”
Usama Shami, president of the community center, knew about the protest from Phoenix police and the FBI and said he respected the bikers’ right to demonstrate, he told a local TV station.
“Everybody has a right to be a bigot. Everybody has a right to be a racist. Everybody has a right to be an idiot,” Shami told the station.