Islam critic refuses to back down despite rock-throwing incident

Ahmed Akkari is going to carry on with his speaking tour despite police arresting fifteen people and confiscating 209 maroons at his latest meeting in Aarhus yesterday

Islam critic and former imam Ahmed Akkari was escorted home by the police after a meeting in Gellerup Parken housing estate in Aarhus last night.

Martin Kjær Jensen, a reporter for the tabloid BT, arrived with Akkari and said people began throwing rocks at them upon their arrival.

"Someone threw rocks at the taxi Akkari was in," he said. "I was in the car with him and we had to run a red light to get away."

15 people arrested
Although Akkari was surrounded by 40 police officers who also established stop-and-search zones, it didn't keep some young people from harassing him and lighting maroons.

Today police released the 15 people they arrested during the course of the evening. They also reported that they confiscated 209 maroons they suspect were to be set off during the meeting.

Akkari has come under criticism from within the Muslim community for announcing in July that he regretted travelling through the Middle East in 2005 in order to encourage groups there to call on Denmark to officially apologise for Jyllands-Posten newspaper’s printing of the Mohammed cartoons earlier that year.

READ MORE: Leading imam during Cartoon Crisis regrets involvement

Two months ago a group of Islamists also posted a video featuring five Syrian rebels shooting a photo of Akkari and five other Danish Islam critics.

Still best meeting on the tour
Akkari's meeting at Gellerup Parken last night was the third stop on a speaking tour with Christian Råbjerg Madsen, a Socialdemokrat candidate for parliament. The two are visiting troubled neighbourhoods around Denmark.

During their previous stop, in the Vollsmose council estate in Odense, they were shouted at and people threw rocks at them.

Despite the incidents, Madsen said last night's meeting was the best attended so far and he still thinks it is important to carry on with the tour.

"It can't always be pleasant to do what is right," he told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. "The debate over how we can prevent people from ending up the way Akkari was in 2005 is important for integration in this country."

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