ATHENS: Greek police fired tear gas Thursday at hundreds of Muslim immigrants in Athens protesting reports that an officer had torn up Holy Qura’n during an identity check the day before.

Around 1,500 demonstrators marched through the working class district of Kypseli towards the Omonia Square in the city centre, where there were scuffles with officers and tear gas was fired, said police.

Some demonstrators also threw dustbins and stones at the police station in Kypseli district, injuring one officer and damaging a car. Officers fired tear gas to break up the crowd.

Demonstrators said that on Wednesday, as police officers stopped four Syrian immigrants to check their papers, one of the officers had torn up Holy Qura’n and stamped on it.

But after word spread of the alleged incident, the local Muslim immigrant community, mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, organised Thursday’s protest.

Immigrants rights groups have called another protest for Friday. Police said they had opened an investigation into the affair