Hundreds of Shiite demonstrators gathered on Saturday in support of the Iraqi government, which has been facing angry protests by the country's Sunni minority.
They convened in Baghdad's Tahrir Square carrying the Iraqi flag and chanting anti-sectarian slogans.
The protesters reject Sunni demands to amend anti-terrorism laws and to end the ban on former ruling Baath party members from public office.
Thousands of Sunnis have taken to the streets in western and northern Iraq for the past three weeks calling on Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to repeal these laws, which they claim target Sunnis.
They also demand the release of tens of thousands of other Sunni prisoners held in anti-terrorism sweeps.
Iraq is 97 per cent Muslim, according to the most recent estimates available. Of these, about 60 to 65 per cent are Shiite, and the rest Sunnis.