TORONTO -- Muslim-Canadians made their displeasure and anger clear as they protested in a downtown courthouse courtyard opposite the U.S. Consulate on Saturday.

“You can always be free to say whatever you want without disrespecting others,” protester Assil T. said.
Some had a more extreme message for the maker of the film Innocence of Muslims, which has been roundly condemned in the Muslim world, where it sparked angry protests.

“We’re very angry,” protester Syed Ali said. “We want to kill this guy, hang him in front of everybody.”

Hundreds of Muslim men, women and children gathered Saturday afternoon at about 2 p.m. to protest against the amateur film that mocks the prophet Muhammed.

Some represented the Muslim Congress and others Canadians Against Blasphemy.

Calling it a “filthy video,” spokesman Zafar Bangash said hate laws should cover the video the same way they cover anti-semitism, adding that the filmmaker has “thrown a match into a fuel tank.”

“We feel deeply offended by that and we are here to express our deep concern about that video because what it has done is disrupted social peace: it has created a lot of turmoil in the Muslim world,” he said.

When asked about the violent response and riots sparked around the world, Bangash says Muslims need not take responsibility for the attack on the U.S. ambassador in Libya.

“The terrorists that targeted the US embassy were the very same terrorists that were trained, armed and financed by the U.S. and NATO forces last year to overthrow Gaddafi’s regime,” he said.

Police presence increased at the protest as the crowd grew larger in the late afternoon, spilling onto University Ave. Dispersing by 4:30 p.m., some left with a promise to return to protest Florida pastor Terry Jones on his visit to Toronto next month.

Organizers said similar protests also went ahead today in Washington DC, Houston and Los Angeles.