The crowd, led by Omar Bakri Muhammad and Yassar al-Siri, were protesting against the alleged desecration of a Qur'an by American military interrogators at Guantanamo Bay. This followed claims by Newsweek magazine that a copy of the Qur'an had been put down a toilet. American and British flags were also burnt, and the protestors chanted calls for violence against the US and UK. Amongst the protestors were about 50 women, some of whom had brought their children. At the time this protest took place, Newsweek had retracted their story about the alleged incident in Guantanamo Bay. Yet the cross-burning still took place, and has caused little interest in the British media. Riots in Afghanistan about the same issue had already caused the deaths of 16 people.