Thousands of people attended "Respect for our Prophet and Condemning Cruelty" march organized on Saturday by a non-governmental platform in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum.

Ruling AK Party deputies from Erzurum, Cengiz Yavilioğlu and Muhyettin Aksak, also attended the march.

The participants chanted such slogans as "We can sacrifice our lives on your way Prophet Muhammad."

Mustafa Güvenli, the chairman of the board of Erzurum non-governmental platform which organized the event, said that Israel was behind the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris on January 7 in which 12 people died.

He said the weekly's subsequent depiction of Prophet Muhammad on its cover - considered sacrilegious by Muslims - would not change the platform's virtuous stance, adding: "Our Prophet is our honor."

AK Party Erzurum deputy Yavilioğlu also stressed that the whole world must seek peace together without making any distinction between the East and the West.