Roughly 1,500 protesters, reportedly Muslim guest workers and immigrants, demonstrated in front of Parliament in downtown Athens on Friday afternoon in the wake of an Iraqi man's claims that a police officer tore a piece of paper he was carrying featuring religious verses in Arabic.

In the escalating unrest, which saw several store facades smashed, parked cars overturned and traffic lights vandalized, one officer and four protesters were said to have sustained minor injuries.

Protesters at first threw objects at riot police, while several bus stops were damaged on the route of the protest, with police responding with tear gas and "flash-bang" grenades.

The protest, which was announced on Thursday, began Friday afternoon in the centrally-located Omonia Square, with people chanting 'Allah is Great' and 'Stop racism', while holding copies of the Koran, despite the fact that authorities said yesterday that they would investigate into the accusations against the police officer.

During a march towards Parliament, protected by large numbers of police, the protestors damaged automobiles and set garbage bins ablaze while police responded with tear-gas.

Forced to pull back, the protestors dispersed and other clashes took place in various parts of the city.

Dozens were taken into custody according to the press. Some were bruised or slightly wounded. Yesterday a few hundred Muslims, mainly Pakistani and Afghan citizens, had already protested similarly against the police, resulting in one officer to be slightly injured and several reported bruises.

The protesters pulled up pavements, smashed about a dozen shop windows and damaged cars, leaving some overturned in the middle of streets. Bus stops and traffic lights were destroyed and shocked tourists ran into hotels on the central Syndagma Square for cover.

Police said 46 protesters were arrested. Seven Muslims and another seven policemen were injured and brought to hospital for treatment. About 75 cars, five stores and one bank were damaged, according to a police statement.

The Iraqi man's allegation a day earlier -- which allegedly occurred during a routine check in a central Athens neighbourhood hosting a large number of foreign nationals -- generated an initial impromptu protest outside a police station in the Athens district of Aghios Panteleimonas.

The inflammatory claim was apparently spread by word of mouth in the same urban district within hours. A later announcement by police headquarters said the incident will be thoroughly investigated.

Οne man was arrested in central Athens late Thursday evening following the rally by several hundred people outside the precinct, with demonstrators mostly identified as Afghan nationals.

The suspect, a Syrian national (previously identified as an Afghan), was arrested after allegedly throwing a firebomb near the Aghios Panteleimonas police station, which is based in a neighbourhood that has recently garnered heightened local media coverage due to increased crime and local residents' charges of the presence of criminal gangs comprised of illegal immigrants and economic migrants.

The Muslim Union of Greece, which represents thousands of immigrants in the capital, said that it had taken legal action against the unidentified policeman alleged to have defaced the Syrian’s copy of Islam’s holy book. Police said an internal investigation had been launched.The president of the Muslim Union of Greece, Naim Elghandour, said during police checks at a Syrian-owned coffee shop on Wednesday, an officer took the Holy Qura’an from a customer, and desecrated it

“We were told by police we will be given the name of the policeman who did this so we can press charges,” Elghandour said. Thousands of immigrants, many from Muslim countries, cross into Greece illegally every year seeking a better life in the West. Trapped in legal limbo, most have no jobs, live in squalid conditions and are often arrested for minor crimes.

Deputy Public Order Minister Christos Markogiannakis said that the incident was isolated and that it didn't justify the immigrants' violent outburst.

"We call on the economic migrants who live in Greece to respect the rule of law and we point out that the state won't allow such extreme behavior," Markogiannakis said in the statement.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis welcomed a proposal by Athens Prefect Yiannis Sgouros to purchase the building of the old Athens appeals court in the city center where hundreds of illegal immigrants have been squatting for the past six months.

At least three people were hospitalized in Athens Saturday morning with breathing problems after unknown assailants ignited a gas canister and threw it through the window of a store that doubles as a prayer centre for Muslim immigrants.

Media reports said none of the injured was in mortal danger.