For many Michigan Muslims, the abuse of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay isn't just an affront to Islam: It's also an insult to America's tradition of tolerance.

So on Friday, they rallied alongside Christians and Jews, whites and blacks, on the steps of the newly opened Islamic Center of America mosque in Dearborn.

Under the glaring sun, they preached a message of respect, civility and love for American values. What made the rally different from other Koran-related demonstrations held around the world over the past month was its diverse makeup and repeated declarations of patriotism.

"This is not about bashing America, this is not about bashing the U.S. military," declared Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center. "Those who desecrated the Koran desecrated America itself. They desecrated all our great and noble values. ... We're all Americans and we all love this country."

Other speakers agreed.

"This is not a gathering of Muslims," said David Gad-Harf, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit. "It's a gathering of Muslims and Jews and Christians and others who all believe that it's against the highest American values to desecrate any religious text."

The two leaders, who sometimes have differing political views on the Middle East, stood together at the event.

The rally was the second major demonstration in Michigan over the desecration of the Koran by U.S. military officials at the detention center in Cuba where the United States maintains a prison for people suspected of terrorism. Human rights groups have said the facility has mistreated prisoners.

"Shut it down!" chanted protesters June 3 outside the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor, referring to the prison.

Later that day, the U.S. Southern Command confirmed there were five cases of Koran abuse; in one case, a guard's urine splashed onto a Koran inside a detainee's cell.

The military's "policy of Koran-handling is obviously serious, respectful and appropriate," Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita said in a statement released June 3. The internal military investigation "confirms that," he said.

After Newsweek reported last month that the military was investigating a charge that someone had flushed a Koran in a toilet at Guantanamo, protests flared in several countries, resulting in more than a dozen deaths.

The report was retracted, but on May 26, the military said there had been several cases of Koran abuse.

People in Dearborn and Ann Arbor are now calling on the Pentagon to apologize to Muslims around the world.

Friday's rally took place after afternoon prayers, often the most-attended services for Muslims. Hundreds gathered, some holding up placards reading, "End the Hate," "What would Jesus do?" and "Desecrating the Quran is desecrating JESUS."

Muslim leaders at the rally and others, like Imam Mohammad Elahi of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, point out that someone who insults the Koran is also insulting Christian and Jewish figures, given that the Koran contains more mentions of leaders such as Moses and Jesus than of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam.

"It's not right," said Maya Mortada, 18, of Dearborn, holding a placard Friday that read, "Where is the justice?"

"We need to respect all religions," she said.