The president of the Czech Republic has attended a rally organized by an anti-Muslim group to coincide with the 26th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that toppled communist rule.

Milos Zeman, who is known for his anti-Islam rhetoric, told the crowd of several thousand people in Prague that they aren't extremists.

Riot police separated them from a counterdemonstration.

Zeman warned against immigrants who belonged to a "culture of murderers and religious hatred."

The rally in the Czech capital on November 17 was organized by the Bloc Against Islam.

It took place at a university campus where the anticommunist revolution began in 1989, prompting Charles University officials to distance themselves from it.

The migrant crisis and the Paris attacks attracted thousands of people to different rallies in Prague in favor and against refugees, even though the country has seen only a small number of asylum seekers compared to several European nations.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters