TORONTO, Feb 12: Nearly 6,000 Canadian Muslims held a peaceful demonstration on snow-covered streets of Toronto to protest against printing of cartoons of holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a Danish newspaper.

The demonstrators gathered in front of Danish Consulate here in downtown on Saturday afternoon and raised slogans of “shame, shame ....we reject insults to our prophet.”

Religious and community leaders delivered emotional speeches and said “freedom of expression cannot be used as a reason to insult a religion.”

They also said that freedom and responsibility must go together. A message from the Canadian Jewish Congress was also read at the rally.

It condemned groups and organizations that use hate to their advantage. A similar demonstration was also held at McGill University in Montreal on Saturday.

Another protest rally is scheduled for next Sunday and, according to local organizers, the demonstrators will gather in front of Ontario’s Provincial Assembly building here at Queen’s Park.