French magazine publishes naked Mohammad cartoons
Updated 12:31pm: French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad on Wednesday, a move criticized by the French authorities which sent riot police to protect the magazine's offices.
France will also close its embassies and schools in around 20 countries Friday because of fears of a hostile reaction to the magazine's actions, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
Issues of the magazine hit newsstands with a front cover showing an Orthodox Jew pushing a turbaned figure in a wheelchair with several caricatures of the Prophet on its inside pages, including some of him naked.
The front page cartoon had the wheelchair-bound figure saying "You mustn't mock" under the headline "Untouchable 2", a reference to a hugely popular French movie about a paralyzed rich white man and his black assistant.
The publication came amid widespread outrage over a short film, made with private funds in the United States, that mocks the Prophet and has ignited days of sometimes deadly protests in the Arab world, Africa, Asia and some Western countries.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius criticized the move as a provocation and said he had ordered security beefed up at French diplomatic offices in the Muslim world.
Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices were fire bombed last November after it published a mocking caricature of Mohammad. In 2005, Danish cartoons of the Prophet sparked a wave of violent protests across the Muslim world that killed at least 50 people.
Many Muslims consider any representation of God or the Prophet Mohammad offensive.
"Is it relevant and intelligent in this environment to add fuel to the fire? The answer is no," Fabius told France Info radio. "I'm very worried... and when I saw this I immediately issued instructions for special security precautions to be taken in all the countries where it could be a problem."
Charlie Hebdo, renowned for its irreverent treatment of the political establishment and public figures, defended its move to publish the cartoons.
"We do caricatures of everyone, and above all every week, and when we do it with the Prophet, it's called provocation," the paper's editor, Stephane Charbonnier, told the news channel i>TELE.
He said that if Charlie Hebdo stopped printing satirical work because of pressure or fear of offence, it would be reduced to selling 16 blank pages every week.
The government has called for restraint over the cartoons, restating the principles of free speech in France and urging those shocked by the images to take action through the courts.
The main body representing Muslims in France, the French Muslim Council (CFCM), accused Charlie Hebdo of firing up anti-Muslim sentiment at a sensitive time.
"The CFCM is deeply attached to freedom of speech but considers that nothing can justify insult and inciting hatred," it said in a statement.
"The CFCM calls on the Muslims of France not to give in to such provocation and urges them to express their indignation calmly and in lawful manner."
As outrage over the anti-Muslim film continues to fuel violence and protests across the Islamic world, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the authorities had rejected a request to hold a march against the film in Paris.
"There is no reason for us to allow conflicts that do not concern France to enter our country," Ayrault told RTL radio.
Social media had circulated calls for a protest on Saturday against the film, after police arrested about 150 people who tried to take part in an unauthorized protest near the US Embassy in Paris last week.
Protest groups have criticized France's decision to ban rallies against the film as a suppression of civil liberties.
(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)
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Comments
Constructive criticism of religions especially if they're very public as Muslims & Christians are is acceptable. But mocking religious figures is facile & unimaginative. It's disrespectful & provocative with no good reason. When I was a Christian I found mocking Christ very offensive. Now I 'm critical and reject religions I still find it offensive. If we mock a politician's actions it's because they hurt people, lie & their actions are for self-promotion. They have recourse to fight back & defend their dishonourable actions. Anyone who's been indoctrinated in religion or adopts a religion knows that the facts of a prophet's life aren't certain and that the texts are so difficult and at times contradictory. It takes years of study and evaluation and even then we're talking about interpreting what is meant & we have big gaps in the lives of prophets where nothing was recorded. Yet these pathetic figures who want publicity and have never read or learnt religion think they are being smart. My friend was stunned when I told her some of the things contained in 'our bible'. She'd no idea it has stories / ideas we'd condemn today. Whilst I bellieve Muslims are overeacting & should save this revulsion for the atrocities that are committed against their communities, it's the accummulation of attacks on Muslims through culture 'disguised as free speech' and wars that are alarming. And there is a sinister agenda behind the mocking. It's a lie that all religions are mocked. The Jewish faith isn't at all. It's foremost Islam & then to a much lesser degree Christianity.
2 ways to become popular for men & women:
for women:act in adults only films
for men: caricature or criticise prophet.
Freedom of speech... Love it.
some snooty french intellectual trying to stir the pot just to peddle his feeble little attempt at a newspaper. how pathetic and irresponsible. for whatever reason, is political satire worth the lives of others?...no, its not. get a real job Stephane Charbonnier, or learn something of ethical journalism
A paper is just a paper. Whether it's worth the lives of others is a decision that you make yourself.
100% Agree
Anyone that has raised children knows that the only way to stop being teased is to stop reacting. As long as a cartoon can make an entire culture look infantile cartoons and worse will keep coming.
Many other religions had been prodded and teased (or call it "insulted"). They have learned that with little or no reaction, there is little further teasing.
Children grow up eventually.
"The CFCM calls on the Muslims of France not to give in to such provocation and urges them to express their indignation calmly and in lawful manner."
LOL! The fact that they have to tell people not to blow stuff up shows where we are at as a society. Though I disagree with the need to protest something so pathetic when real anger should be expressed at the destructive American foreign policy in the region, I have to say that what Nasrallah did was political genius. No burning flags, no mobs, just a mass of organised people protesting peacefully. The Shia love Muhammed too you know...
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