BEIRUT: Amid widespread condemnation of Paris terror attacks fresh publication of caricature of Prophet Muhammad by the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo has been denounced as insulting and an avoidable provocation by leading figures in the Muslim world.
Grand Mufti of al-Quds (Jerusalem) has condemned the depiction of Prophet Mohammad on the cover of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo as insulting.
Muhammad Ahmad Hussein on Wednesday said the new cartoon is an insult to nearly two billion Muslims living all over the world.
The respected cleric, who serves as the custodian of the al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds, said the depiction and other forms of insult will damage the relationship between followers of various religions.
He said the release of the drawing was an insult to the Prophet Mohammed and a disregard for the feelings of Muslims.
The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which earlier denounced the Paris attack, stating that the terrorist outfits have offended the Islam and Prophet Muhammed more than the cartoons mocking them, condemned Charlie Hebdos fresh sacrilegious depictions of the Prophet of Islam.
Hezbollah condemns the new dangerous insult in Charlie Hebdo magazines issue, read a statement issued by Hezbollah on Wednesday, adding, “What the French magazine did again is very offensive to the feelings of more than 1.5 billion Muslims across the world, and to all those who follow monotheistic religions.”
“It is an act that contributes directly to supporting terrorism, extremism and fundamentalists,” the statement added.
Five million copies of the new edition of Charlie Hebdo hit the newsstands on Wednesday, depicting a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover amid warnings that the move is provocative.
Other religious leaders across the world have also denounced the French magazines new move, calling it a direct insult to all Muslims.
Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also condemned the cartoon, saying that respect for the sanctities facilitates establishing respectful relations.
If we begin to disrespect the values and sanctities of each other, we would never be able to initiate serious dialog, Zarif said in a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Wednesday.
Irans Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham also condemned the release of the drawing on Wednesday, describing the cartoon as sacrilegious and saying that misusing the freedom of expression in the West is unacceptable.
Afkham also stated that the desecration could provoke the sentiments of the Muslims around the world.
The Dar al-Iftaa, the Egyptian fatwa office, had already commented in advance of today’s edition of Charlie Hebdo, describing it as “an unjustified provocation to the feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.”
Dar al-Iftaa said, “Charlie Hebdo’s next edition will stir a new wave of hatred in the French and western (Muslim) community in general.” It added that “the magazine’s actions hinder Muslims’ endeavors to achieve coexistence and dialog among civilizations.”
Writing in the liberal online London newspaper Al Arabi al-Jadeed commentator Azmi Bishara believes that the lines between free speech and hate speech have been blurred – but that this line “is not so thin, and a sound mind can indeed tell the difference.
“It is time to ask ourselves, can cartoons that insult the prophets of all religions, including the prophet of Islam, truly undermine the stature of these prophets? [ ] Are such events a worthy cause for millions of people to rise up and damage their future, their plans, their relations with other nations and peoples?” asked Bishara.
Comments on Twitter were varied with many expressing anger and even cynicism. One user wrote that Charlie Hebdo is spitting into Muslims’ faces once again. “We will avenge our leader Muhammad for you,” writes another user from East Asia.
One reader on Al-Jazeera asked what it means that Charlie Hebdo wants to “forgive,” as indicated in the cartoon. “The attackers are dead, so it’s not really a question of forgiveness anymore,” she says. Another refers to the limits of freedom: “Islam is a peaceful religion. Making fun of or insulting other people’s faith is not freedom of speech – that’s hate speech.”
The French magazine has repeatedly provoked Muslim anger by publishing cartoons of the Prophet.
On January 7, the magazines offices in Paris came under an attack, during which 12 people were killed. The attack was largely believed to have been launched over the weeklys previous cartoons of the Prophet.
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