Muslims across the world, including Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria, and france have taken to the streets in recent days to protest French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's republication of a series of ‘blasphemous' cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of the Islamic faith.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has weighed in on Charlie Hebdo's decision to republish a dozen cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, suggesting that the move shows the hostility of Western governments and their allies toward the Muslim world, and dismissing the ‘freedom of expression' defence made by some French politicians.
“The excuse of ‘freedom of expression' made by some French politicians in order not to condemn this grave crime of insulting the Holy Prophet of Islam is completely unacceptable, wrong and demagogic,” Khamenei added, referring to French President Emmanual Macron's refusal earlier this month to “pass judgement on the editorial choice” made by Charlie Hebdo to republish the cartoon, citing France's “freedom of the press” laws.
Cartoons Spark Protests
Last week, Charlie Hebdo announced the republication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad which served as the central motive behind the January 2015 al-Qaeda terror attack in Paris which killed twelve people, including several of the satirical magazine's cartoonists. The…
