Updated: Sun Mar. 12 2006 6:50:44 PM

CTV.ca News

As many as 150 people gathered in front of the Danish consulate in Toronto to hold a rally in support of free speech and the controversial cartoons depicting Islam's founder, the Prophet Muhammad.

Rally organizers there said they wanted to show support for the Danish people and defend the principle of free speech.

"Some of us will not stand idly and meekly by while a principle fundamental to any free society is violently and senselessly threatened," Daniel Dale said Saturday.

Denmark held a conference on Friday to boost its ties with the Muslim world. Some Muslim countries are still boycotting Danish goods.

In Toronto, demonstrators waved Danish flags and carried signs with messages about the importance of free expression.

One sign read "All We Are Saying is Give Speech a Chance" while another read "Freedom Rings Whenever Opinions Clash."

Former broadcast journalist and Conservative candidate Peter Kent spoke the rally as a representative of the non-profit group Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD).

"Any democracy worth its salt should be strong enough to endure the most controversial speech," Kent said.

"That speech cannot be corrupted or compromised or silenced by intimidation or fear of violent reprisal," he said.

"We in Canada and free people around the world have the right to offend and to be offended. We do not have the right to respond to offence with violence."

The CCD does not seem to mind making strong statements either. On the organization's website, they claim, "The people of Denmark are under attack once again by today's fascists." The website invites visitors to send an electronic postcard to the Danish people as a show of support.

A similar demonstration in February at the Danish embassy in Washington inspired the Toronto event.

"Our intent is not to incite or provoke, but simply to stand in solidarity with a democracy and an ally and to express support for free expression," Dale told The Canadian Press.

Similar events are planned for other cities, including New York, Sydney and London.

The Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, first published them last September. Some of the caricatures depicted the Prophet as a terrorist. One of the dozen drawings showed the Prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse.

The issue heated up again in January and February when some European publications reprinted the cartoons to show solidarity with the Danish newspaper. Some demonstrations led to the burning of Danish and Norwegian embassies.

At least 45 lives were lost in a wave of protests that swept through many parts of the Muslim world.

With files from The Canadian Press.