OTTAWA, Feb. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Hundreds of Muslims on Saturday staged peaceful demonstrations in two Canadian cities protesting against cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad.

    Around 250 protesters rallied on Saturday near McGill university in downtown Montreal, and the protest coincided with another demonstration in Toronto that gathered some 1,500 people, who clogged a busy downtown area outside the Danish consulate.

    The Montreal protesters denounced the cartoons, which were first published in Denmark last September and have since been reprinted in other European newspapers.

    The protesters also condemned the violence that erupted during demonstrations against the cartoons across the Islamic world.

    Said Jazeri, imam of the Al Qods Mosque which organized the protest, said that Muslims need an outlet for their frustration, but violence will not be tolerated in the demonstration.

    He said that they were there not only "to denounce insults against the Prophet and all prophets and all types of provocation," but also to "denounce all acts of violence, all acts of terrorism."

    Chanting and singing, some of them held signs reading "No to insulting our prophets, Mohammad, Jesus, Moses."

    Demonstrators were prohibited from chanting hateful slogans or bringing flags of any sort to prevent flag-burning incidents.

    Violent protests have erupted across the world for recent weeksduring demonstration against the caricatures, among them one depicting Mohammad with a bomb-shaped turban.

    Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, favorable or otherwise. The newspaper that first published the cartoons has apologized,but demonstrations continued. Enditem