HARRISBURG, Pa./SEATTLE (Reuters) - Protesters held rallies across the United States on Saturday to denounce sharia law, the Islamic legal and moral code that organizers say poses a threat to American freedoms, but critics believe anti-Muslim hatred is behind the condemnation.

ACT for America, a self-described grassroots organization focusing on national security, staged rallies in New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Seattle, as well as many smaller cities. Hundreds of people pledged on social media to attend an event that ACT billed as “March against Sharia.”

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. Many of the latter were dressed in black masks and hoods and chanting “No Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA.”

The atmosphere was tense but the protest went off with no violence and only one arrest, police said.

More than a dozen men belonging to the anti-government Oath Keepers were on hand, invited by ACT to provide security. Most of them carried handguns.

Chris Achey, 47, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said he did not hate Muslims but believes that much of Islam is incompatible with Western culture.

“The Constitution is the law of the land,” he said. “We have to be careful with who we let in the country.”

On its website, ACT described sharia, which covers many aspects of Muslim life including religious obligations and financial dealings, as incompatible with human rights. It said sharia justifies the oppression of women and homosexuality, and advocates female genital mutilation.

But critics say the organization vilifies Muslims and has repeatedly equated Islam with extremism. 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.

Anti-sharia protesters scuffle with counter demonstrators and members of the Minnesota State Patrol at the state capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. June 10, 2017. REUTERS/Adam Bettcher

Molly Freiburg, 33, of Philadelphia, was one of the counter-protesters but not part of the larger group clad in black.

“America is not in danger from sharia law,” she said. “This manifestation at the Capitol is actually a way to make our Muslim neighbors feel uncomfortable.”

A representative for ACT for America could not be reached for comment.

In Seattle, about 75 anti-sharia protesters were outnumbered by counter-protesters at a rally that was moved from Portland, Oregon. Tensions are running high in Portland after a man yelling religious and racial slurs at two teenage girls on a commuter train fatally stabbed two men who tried to stop him.

Talbot Sleater, a 62-year-old construction foreman, said that the Seattle protest was the first of the kind that he had attended. A Briton who moved to the United States, he said he had decided to go after recent attacks in his home country.

“People are being run over in the street with trucks and little kids are being blown up,” Sleater said, referring to recent attacks in London and Manchester. “I don’t want that to happen here.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country’s largest Muslim advocacy group, urged Americans to participate in one of several local educational events being organized in “a peaceful challenge to Saturday’s hate rallies.”

It also warned Muslims to take extra precautions against potential violence over the weekend.

Anti-Muslim incidents rose 57 percent last year, including a 44 percent jump in anti-Islamic hate crimes, CAIR said in a report released in early May.

Slideshow (13 Images)

Oath Keepers said on its website that it was “answering the call to defend free speech against those who would use terrorist violence or the threat of violence to shut it down.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center says Oath Keepers is “one of the largest radical antigovernment groups in the United States,” organized around a “set of baseless conspiracy theories.”

Refuse Fascism, a coalition of activists advocating confrontational tactics to oppose what it calls the Trump “regime,” said it would show up at the rallies “to counter the xenophobic hatred and lies, defy intimidation and drown it out.”</s>A small but emotional rally billed as opposing Islamic Sharia law downtown Saturday sparked a counter-protest nearly twice as large, causing a phalanx of police officers to act as a barrier between the two groups to prevent any fights.

About 30 people gathered at northwest corner of Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue, carrying signs that read “No killing Gays” and “Sharia abuses women.”

The group was split into two factions. One group of protesters along Wabash Avenue hoped to bring awareness to specific Sharia practices they claimed oppressed Muslim women and children. They wanted to distance themselves from what they said was a more “radical” faction –protesters gathered near the Heald Square Monument, whose anti-Muslim rhetoric was met with anger and frustration by counter-protesters.

Those who led the counter-protest, which included about 60 people, said the anti-Sharia protesters demonized Islam and created unnecessary fears about the religion. The counter-protesters gathered on the northeast side of the intersection, banging drums and crying out “Racists, racists go home!” and “When Muslims are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

When they realized the anti-Sharia protest was growing in numbers, counter-protesters crossed the intersection and moved onto their corner, so that the two groups were demonstrating face-to-face.

The anti-Sharia protest was one of demonstrations planned in more than 20 cities, including New York, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta, sponsored by the conservative group Act for America, which calls itself the “NRA of national sercurity.”

The marches were held because “many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values,” according to a statement posted on the group’s website.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has called Act for America an anti-Muslim hate group and recognized that its protests were attracting anti-government and far-right extremists. Act for America cancelled its rally in Batesville, Ark., after the law center revealed that neo-Nazi Billy Roper was the main organizer. Many of the anti-Sharia protesters in Chicago said they were not members of Act for America but supported the group’s mission for the rally.

Chicago’s protests were peaceful, although at times they grew heated. A verbal dispute between protesters on opposing sides nearly turned physical when a protester lunged toward a counter-protester before being stopped by police. Verbal attacks and other confrontations caused police to form a barrier between the groups, and they eventually put metal fencing between them.

Several times, downtown pedestrians who noticed the anti-Sharia signs and outfits — some wore “Make America Great Again” caps and bandanas over their noses and mouths — stopped to confront the protesters, calling them racists and bigots.

“Get out of my city, man, this isn’t a place for you!” one pedestrian shouted at the protesters. “This is a place of diversity. This is the home of Harold Washington.”

Counter-protesters were upset by a large green flag with four letter K’s waved by an anti-Sharia demonstrator, believing the flag was a nod to the Ku Klux Klan. The flag was the flag of Kekistan, a fictional right-wing country born from Internet gaming culture.

The flag’s design mimics a German Nazi war flag, which serves to make fun of liberals and their “political correctness,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. While protesters claimed the flag was not a symbol of white supremacy, and was just meant to “troll people,” the law center links Kekistan with white nationalism.

One protester made a point of separating herself from the faction of protesters who carried the flag. The woman, who declined to give her full name, said she wanted to speak out against practices like female genital mutilation and child marriages, but said she supports Islam as a whole.

“Sharia law doesn’t belong here in America. It doesn’t align with our constitution,” said the 61-year-old from Woodstock. “You have a lot of Muslims who want to reform Islam but they’re being silenced.”

Meredith Payne, a 44-year-old who lives in West Rogers Park, said she lives among a large Muslim community that’s respected and loved by others there. That compelled her to join the counter-protest and speak out against what she said was Islamophobia. She said she was pleased that more people supported the counter-protest than the protest.

“It’s definitely a positive thing, and something we need to continue to do anytime we see hate anywhere,” she said.</s>× Group protesting Sharia clashes with counter-protesters in cities across the country

A right-wing group protesting Islamic law, or Sharia, clashed with counter-demonstrators at rallies in Denver, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and other cities on Saturday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says ACT for America is the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America.

ACT for America organized the marches in more than two dozen cities, saying on its website that “Sharia is incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords.”

In Denver, police officers in riot gear were called to a rally at the Colorado Capitol late Saturday afternoon. There were some violent confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters who support the Muslim community. Four people were arrested.

Pushing back protesters on both sides, trying to create space after both sides got violent with each other. Several arrested #KDVR pic.twitter.com/I7g6qucsau

In Seattle, police used pepper spray to break up fights in Occidental Park, police spokesman Mark Jamieson said. Three people were arrested.

Earlier in the day, the anti-Sharia group rallied at City Hall Plaza while a much larger group gathered nearby, with the two groups separated by police, he said. The counter-protesters yelled and sounded horns to drown out the anti-Sharia group, CNN affiliate KOMO reported.

“At the conclusion of the rally the large group returned to Occidental Park,” Jamieson said in a news release. “Officers continued to monitor the crowds and separate the opposing groups, but shortly after 12:30 a large fight broke out. Officers used pepper spray to break up the crowd. Officers arrested one woman and two men for obstructing.”

In Chicago, the counter-protesters outnumbered the protesters about two to one, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Protesters carried signs that read “No killing Gays” and “Sharia abuses women,” the paper reported. Counter-protesters banged on drums and shouted “Racists, racists go home!”

Seven people were arrested at the Capitol in St. Paul, the Minnesota State Patrol tweeted from its official account. No injuries have been reported.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, two people were arrested — one for disorderly conduct and a second for striking a state police horse, said Troy Thompson of Capitol Police.

No violence was reported in New York City, where about 500 people gathered in Foley Square, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. Four people were arrested for loitering.

Sharia law doesn’t exist the United States, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a political issue.

When President Donald Trump campaigned last year, he said he wanted to test Muslims coming into America to make sure they don’t want Sharia law to supersede the US Constitution.

More than a dozen states have passed, or are trying to pass, laws to curb the possibility of Sharia law making its way onto the books in the US. ACT for America often promotes this legislation.

The anti-Sharia protest organizer in Seattle, Anthony Parish of Kent, told KOMO the group came out to show opposition to practices like the mutilation of young girls and honor killing — issues mentioned on the ACT for America webpage.

He said the group was not anti-Muslim.

The counter-protest group, Seattle Stands With Our Muslim Neighbors, disagreed, saying on its Facebook page that ACT for America is “a recognized Islamophobic hate group.”

The word Sharia means “the path,” or “a road that leads one to water.” It refers to a set of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims. Sharia is based on Islam’s holy book, the Quran, and the life of Prophet Mohammed.

The March Against Sharia gained prominence a few weeks ago after two men were fatally stabbed on a Portland commuter train, allegedly by a man shouting anti-Muslim slogans at two young women, one of whom was Muslim.

Mayor Ted Wheeler asked that the previously scheduled March Against Sharia in Portland be called off to avoid the possibility of violence.

Organizers canceled the event and urged supporters to attend the Seattle protest.</s>Demonstrators gathered in at least 28 cities across the US for anti-Sharia law marches on Saturday.

March Against Sharia rallies are organized by ACT for America, an organization that says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security.

This year's rallies are expected to be the group's largest protest against Islam and took place in cities including Phoenix, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, New York, Boston and Seattle.

But many of the marches saw even larger counter-rallies.

Hundreds of counter-protesters marched through Seattle on Saturday to confront a few dozen people claiming Shariah is incompatible with Western freedoms.

Local activists set up an 'Ask an American Muslim' booth where attendees could meet and learn about their Muslim neighbors.

In New York City there were more than 200 counter-protesters to the approximate 100 demonstrators for the March Against Sharia.

The groups verbally clashed with police officers standing between them.

In Chicago, about 30 anti-Shariah demonstrators were outnumbered by counter-protesters.

The marches were held in 18 states and are 'against Sharia law and for human rights', according to the ACT for America website.

But the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated ACT for America as an extremist, anti-Muslim hate group.

ACT for America says it condemns bias against religious groups and is 'proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide'.

Yet many Muslims and others say the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam.

'Many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values,' the ACT for America website says.

Their activists portray Shariah as largely incompatible with American democracy and often warn of a stealth effort to replace US law with Islamic law.

Muslims call the claims ludicrous and say Islamic law plays a role similar to Jewish law, as a guide to religious life rooted in the Quran and scholars say there's little to no threat to US democracy from Islamic law.</s>Rallies against sharia law held across US, critics accuse protesters of vilifying Muslims

Protesters have rallied across the United States to denounce sharia law, the Islamic legal and moral code they claim poses a threat to American freedoms, but critics believe anti-Muslim hatred is behind the condemnation.

ACT for America, a self-described grassroots organisation, staged "March against Sharia" rallies in New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Seattle, as well as many smaller cities.

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.

Many of the latter were dressed in black masks and hoods and chanting: "No Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA."

The atmosphere was tense but the protest went off with no violence and only one arrest, police said.

More than a dozen men belonging to the anti-government Oath Keepers were on hand, invited by ACT to provide security. Most of them carried handguns.

Chris Achey, 47, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said he did not hate Muslims but believes that much of Islam is incompatible with Western culture.

"The Constitution is the law of the land," Mr Achey said.

"We have to be careful with who we let in the country."

On its website, ACT described sharia, which covers many aspects of Muslim life including religious obligations and financial dealings, as incompatible with human rights.

It said sharia justified the oppression of women and homosexuality, and advocated female genital mutilation.

But critics have said the organisation vilifies Muslims and has repeatedly equated Islam with extremism.

In their view, the rallies were part of a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment fuelled by US President Donald Trump, who called for a ban on Muslims entering the country during his election campaign.

Molly Freiburg, 33, of Philadelphia, was one of the counter-protesters but not part of the larger group clad in black.

"America is not in danger from sharia law," Ms Freiburg said.

A representative for ACT for America could not be reached for comment.

In Seattle, about 75 anti-sharia protesters were outnumbered by counter-protesters at a rally that was moved from Portland, Oregon.

Tensions are running high in Portland after a man yelling religious and racial slurs at two teenage girls on a commuter train fatally stabbed two men who tried to stop him.

Talbot Sleater, a 62-year-old construction foreman, said that the Seattle protest was the first of the kind that he had attended.

A Briton who moved to the United States, Mr Sleater said he had decided to go after recent attacks in his home country.

"People are being run over in the street with trucks and little kids are being blown up," he said, referring to recent attacks in London and Manchester.

"I don't want that to happen here."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country's largest Muslim advocacy group, urged Americans to participate in one of several local educational events being organised in "a peaceful challenge to Saturday's hate rallies".

It also warned Muslims to take extra precautions against potential violence over the weekend.

Anti-Muslim incidents rose 57 per cent last year, including a 44 per cent jump in anti-Islamic hate crimes, CAIR said in a report released in early May.</s>Protesters campaigning against Sharia Law were met with a number of counter-demonstrations on Saturday, as anti-Sharia rallies took place in 28 cities across America.

The rallies, which were organized by the national security organization ACT! for America, attracted strong support in cities such as Phoenix, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, New York, Boston, and Seattle.

Sharia Law, which has seen an upsurge in implementation across Islamic communities in recent years, is the strictest form of Islamic Law. Under Sharia Law, women must be submissive to men, sexual intercourse with pre-pubescent females and rape is sometimes permissible and the punishment for blasphemy is death.

A press release from the ACT! for America website reads:

This is a march against Sharia law and for human rights. Our nation is built on the freedom of religion – a pillar of our democracy – which we must always respect, protect, and honor. However many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values.

However, many marches were disrupted by counter-demonstrators, who accused participants of “Islamaphobia” and stoking hatred against Muslims.

In Seattle, protesters could be heard singing: “No hate, no fear, Muslims are welcome here,” as footage showed the two groups involved in a physical altercation.

In New York, protesters attempted to drown out the chanting of the anti-Sharia march by sounding air horns and banging pots and pans. Video footage from the event showed protesters launch urine towards Canadian conservative journalist Lauren Southern.

“Out of nowhere liquid was splashed onto my face from one of the masked individuals in the crowd. It got all in my eyes and over my face and totally reeked. The first two seconds were a little horrifying because I wasn’t sure if it was an acid attack,” Southern told Breitbart News.

Several people were arrested after fights broke out at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, although nobody was injured, according to local reports.

According to Reuters, there was a heavy police presence at the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg, as barricades and police mounted on horses separated two groups of approximately 60 protesters. Counter-protesters were reportedly “dressed in black masks and hoods” and could be heard chanting, “No Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA.'”

On Friday, 129 national and local organizations signed a letter urging city mayors to condemn the marches, emphasizing the fact they take place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com</s>A new group called Act for America is organizing rallies against Sharia law, and will be in Roseville on Saturday.</s>Protesters who gathered on Saturday to denounce Islamic law were met across the country with equally sized or larger counter-protests.

Organizers called the "March Against Sharia" rallies to protest what they say is the threat to U.S. society posed by the set of traditional Muslim practices, which they say includes oppression of women, honor killings, homophobic violence, female genital mutilation and other abuses.

But reports and pictures show large counter-protests around the country, with activists accusing the "anti-sharia" marchers of racism and Islamophobia.

Sharia "is a legal or philosophical code derived from Islamic scripture and meant to guide the behavior of observant Muslims," as NPR's Tom Gjelten noted. Religious experts say it's similar to parts of Christian and Jewish customs.

The rallies were held in about two dozen cities and about 20 states. They were organized by the conservative group ACT for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the "largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America, claiming 280,000 members and over 1,000 chapters." The organization describes itself as "the NRA of national security."

"I feel like we need to make a stand now, before [sharia] makes more inroads," protester Shannon Boulogne told WABE reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi. "I've always been, you know, for women's rights."

Bandlamudi reports that Boulogne was among a small group of demonstrators who gathered in Atlanta's Piedmont Park. The Los Angeles Times reports they were met by a "small gaggle of counter-protesters," who "held up placards and shouted, 'No Hate! No Fear! Muslims Are Welcome Here.' "

A few miles away, other Atlantans held a counter-protest and food drive. Asma Elhuni, of the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized the "anti-sharia" protesters. "If they're against sharia, are you against feeding the poor? Are you against being friendly, showing love? Because essentially that is Sharia," she told Bandlamudi.

In Syracuse, N.Y., "March Against Sharia" organizer Lisa Joseph told North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann that she put the rally together because she and others are "against female genital mutilation, honor killings, throwing gays off of buildings, stoning people to death."

Counter-protesters in Syracuse responded by shouting "Shame! Shame! Shame!" and described the opposing demonstration as anti-Muslim bigotry, Mann reports.

On the other side of the country, several dozen "anti-sharia" protesters gathered at Seattle's City Hall, according to The Associated Press. But the AP reports that "[h]undreds of counter-protesters marched through downtown Seattle behind a large sign saying 'Seattle stands with our Muslim neighbors.' "

In Chicago, "about 30 people demonstrated against Islamic law and in favor of President Trump," but twice as many counter-protesters shouted back, the wire service reports.

"Each side boasted about 150-to-175 people" in a protest and counter-protest in Denver, according to The Denver Post, and law enforcement arrested four people.

In Harrisburg, Penn., about 60 "anti-sharia" protesters were separated from the same number of counter-protesters. "This is a march against sharia, not Muslims," Steven R. Moore, of Washington County, Pa., told The Washington Post. "We are not affiliated with any extremist groups. ... Sharia is a barbaric system that the Islamic State is trying to impose in our country."

Several counter-protesters were "anti-fascist" or "antifa" activists, who "dressed in black masks and hoods and chant[ed] 'No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,' " Reuters reports, a slogan modified from a 1980s punk song.

Similar protests and counter-protests also happened in St. Paul, Minn., where authorities arrested several people "when scuffles broke out," the AP reports, and New York City, where counter-protesters banged pots and pans in an effort to drown out "anti-sharia" demonstrators.

Despite the concern, sharia has no chance of being imposed in the U.S. in the foreseeable future.

"It's like the Ten Commandments for Muslims. It's nothing to be enforced upon anyone. It's a moral code that I follow for myself as an individual," Muslim youth leader Mansoor Shams explained to NPR earlier this year.

No area of the U.S. has legally implemented sharia, despite false reports on social media that Dearborn, Mich., enacted it.

According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. has a population that is only 0.9 percent Muslim; and Liyakat Takim, a professor of Islamic studies at McMaster University, told the AP that the vast majority of U.S. Muslims oppose implementing sharia in the U.S.

Then there's the Constitution, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."</s>About two dozen rallies were planned across the United States on Saturday to denounce Sharia law, the Islamic legal and moral code that organizers say poses a threat to American freedoms. But critics believe the condemnation masks anti-Muslim hatred.

ACT for America, a self-described grassroots organization focusing on national security, has scheduled protests in New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Seattle, as well as many smaller cities. Hundreds of people pledged on social media to attend.

At a rally on the steps of the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg, the atmosphere was tense. Barricades and a heavy police presence, including officers mounted on horses, separated about 60 anti-Sharia demonstrators from an equal number of counter-protesters, many dressed in black masks and hoods and chanting "No Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA."

More than a dozen men belonging to the anti-government Oath Keepers were on hand, invited by ACT to provide security. Most of them carried handguns.
• Anti-Shariah rallies in several U.S. cities this weekend worry Muslim leaders

Leann Koons, 35, of Ricketts Glen, Pennsylvania, said she came to the rally "because I stand for women's and children's rights. I don't like how they treat women."

Chris Achey, 47, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said he did not hate Muslims but believes that much of Islam is incompatible with Western culture.

"The constitution is the law of the land," he said. "We have to be careful with who we let in the country."

The event ended without violence, and police said one counter-demonstrator was arrested.

On its website, ACT described Sharia, which covers many aspects of Muslim life including religious obligations and financial dealings, as incompatible with human rights. It said Sharia justifies the oppression of women and homosexuality, and advocates female genital mutilation.

But critics say the organization vilifies Muslims and has repeatedly equated Islam with extremism. In their view, the rallies are part of a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment fuelled by President Donald Trump, who called for a ban on Muslims entering the country during his election campaign.

Several U.S. states have passed statutes banning Sharia law, but there are no courts in the U.S. that apply it, nor any states that are considering using it.

Molly Freiburg, 33, of Philadelphia, was one of the counter-protesters, but not part of the larger group clad in black.

"America is not in danger from Sharia law," she said. "This manifestation at the capitol is actually a way to make our Muslim neighbours feel uncomfortable."

A representative for ACT for America could not be reached for comment.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country's largest Muslim advocacy group, urged Americans to participate in one of several local educational events being organized in "a peaceful challenge to Saturday's hate rallies."

It also warned Muslims to take extra precautions against potential violence over the weekend. Anti-Muslim incidents rose 57 per cent last year, including a 44 per cent jump in anti-Islamic hate crimes, CAIR said in a report released in early May.

Oath Keepers said on its website that it was "answering the call to defend free speech against those who would use terrorist violence or the threat of violence to shut it down."

The Southern Poverty Law Centre says Oath Keepers is "one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the United States," organized around a "set of baseless conspiracy theories."

Refuse Fascism, a coalition of activists advocating confrontational tactics to oppose what it calls the Trump "regime," said it would show up at the rallies "to counter the xenophobic hatred and lies, defy intimidation and drown it out."</s>RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Dozens of officers at the State Capitol Saturday morning stood between two sets protesters.

One group held a March Against Sharia while the other called its rally United Against Islamophobia and Racism.

ACT! for America coordinated about two dozen of the anti-Sharia marches across the country for Saturday morning, prompting counter protests from Muslims and their allies who said the Sharia title is a fear tactic used to target Islam as a whole.

Richard Roberts with ACT! for America said the rally is not about Islam but about radical Islamic groups. He said most Americans have no idea what Sharia Law is.

“They’re calling us anti-Muslim, Islamophobic. That’s not it. We’re just bringing attention to the cause,” Roberts said.

“Knowledge is key, and that’s what we’re doing today. This is like ground zero, because people aren’t aware. The more we talk about it and hold rallies and bring attention to it,” he added.

About 100 people participated in the March Against Sharia. Speakers talked about the interpretation of Islamic texts to support acts such as female genital mutilation, rape, honor killings, and forcing young girls to marry much older men.

The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies several of the organizations involved in the March Against Sharia as hate groups with radical anti-government views and anti-Muslim associations.

John Martinez, who identified himself as a Donald Trump supporter and not a member of any of the participating organizations, said he is not anti-Muslim but has serious concerns about Sharia Law.

“Americans believe in freedom. Not some cult. It’s a cult, it’s not a religion,” John Martinez said.

“I’m anti-terrorist as well. If you cannot assimilate when you move here to the Untied States, why are you here? Why are you coming over from foreign lands and forcing or trying to force your quote religious beliefs on Americans?” Martinez asked.

Organizers of the counter protest say that is not an accurate understanding of Islam, Sharia, or American laws.

“Legally that’s not a thing. That’s not even possibly a thing,” Fatema Ahmad said.

“It’s a code word that people use to insinuate the Muslims are foreign, that we’re coming here and we’re against American values, which is crazy. There is no threat like that.”

Several hundred people gathered a few blocks from the Capitol for the counter protest. Many were Muslim, but the crowd included clergy from other faiths as well as whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics.

John Balla said he came to offer support to all people of color and anyone who faces discrimination. He wants to create a community of inclusion and support, and show that there are many people who don’t buy into hate or racism.

“I would love to not have to be here on a beautiful June day. It’s 2017 and yet here I am with hundreds of other people, making a statement against hate,” Balla said.

“Let that sink in for a minute — it is more than 50 years after the Civil Rights era, and we’re still battling for civil rights issues.”

Kashif Omsaf works with Muslim youth on behalf of The Light House. He said it was incredible to see such diversity at what he described as an anti-Islamophobia event.

Omsaf said people at the March Against Sharia don’t understand enough about Islam, and makes him think he needs to do more to share the truth about his faith.

“It tells me I’m not doing a good enough job by telling people who Muslims are, how we’re just as peaceful as anyone else,” Omsaf said.

“Everyone likes to pick and choose their favorite verses. Sharia is a book of jurisprudence or a compilation of jurisprudences. It tells you things like ‘you’re innocent until proven guilty,’ something that we hold very true in our Constitution,” he said.

“There are so many beautiful elements to it. (People) like to pick the hateful ones to support (their) own message,” Omsaf added.

The counter protest organizers said they did not expect such a large turnout in the march to the Capitol. They had discussions earlier in the week about the possibility of some in the group going to face the anti-Sharia protesters, and forming a “wall of sound” to drown out those they perceive as anti-Muslim.

However, most of the rally walked several blocks to show unity.

March Against Sharia supporters said they are for human rights, and some accused the counter-protesters of being pro-Sharia and wanting cruel actions to take place in the United States.

Ahmad said that is far from the truth, and that the counter protest is about human rights and the entire human race.

“Theirs is a march for only certain people’s rights. Theirs is not a march for everyone,” Ahmad said.

“They’re not out here to protect everybody. It is a mostly white group and it’s only about protecting white people against a supposed threat from us. There’s no threat here, and we are actually fighting for our rights to live here safely and in (the) community,” Ahmad added.

A large law enforcement contingent including Raleigh Police, Capitol Police, and North Carolina State Troopers kept the opposing sides apart, and removed a couple members of the counter protest while moving the larger crowd across the street.
Protesters stage rallies, organized by ACT! for America, against sharia law in major and small cities across the United States. Counter protesters also assembled at these locations.