French Magazine Publishes Blasphemous Cartoons Ridiculing Prophet Muhammad (s.a.ww)

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PARIS - Fears that a wave of anger in the Islamic world could spread to Europe mounted Tuesday as it emerged that a French magazine was planning to publish cartoons caricaturing the holy Prophet. Satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo confirmed that its latest edition contains several cartoons featuring the holy Prophet that the publication’s editor said would “shock those who will want to be shocked.” The magazine is due to hit the stands today (Wednesday) against a background of protests across the Islamic world over a crude USZ-made film that mocks the holy Prophet (s.a.ww) and portrays Muslims as gratuitously violent. At least 30 people have died so far in demonstrations held in over 20 countries. Charlie Hebdo is no stranger to controversy over its handling of the issues relating to Islam.

Last year it published an edition “guest-edited” by the holy Prophet (s.a.ww) that it called Sharia Hebdo. Charlie Hebdo’s latest move was greeted with immediate calls from political and religious leaders for the media to act responsibly and avoid inflaming the current situation. PM Jean-Marc Ayrault issued a statement expressing “disapproval of all excesses.” The magazine’s editor, originally a cartoonist who uses the name Charb, denied he was being deliberately provocative at a delicate time. Dalil Boubakeur, the senior cleric at Paris’s biggest mosque, appealed for France’s four million Muslims to remain calm. “It is with astonishment, sadness and concern that I have learned that this publication is risking increasing the current outrage across the Muslim world. I would appeal to them not to pour oil on the fire,” he said.

France’s Muslim Council, the community’s main representative body, also appealed for calm in the face of “this new act of Islamaphobia.” Even before news of Charlie Hebdo’s plans emerged, France’s large Muslim community was being urged to take to the streets in defiance of an official ban on demonstrations over the controversial film. Messages on Twitter and social networking sites called for demonstrations to be held Saturday in Paris, Marseille and other major cities, a week after police in the capital arrested 150 people for taking part in a rowdy protest near the USZ embassy. Most messages read “Don’t touch my Prophet”, a variation of the French anti-racism slogan “Don’t Touch my Mate” popular in the 1980s.

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