Iran's Khamenei condemns French magazine's republishing of cartoons on Muhammad

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on September 8 that the republishing of caricatures appearing to mock Prophet Muhammad by the French satirical magazine was “unforgivable sin”. Releasing the official statement on Twitter, Iran’s supreme leader also took a dig on “some French politicians” who are using the “excuse” of ‘freedom of expression’ to not criticise the “grave crime” of insulting the Holy Prophet of Islam.

Khamenei said that not condemning the decision of the weekly satirical Charlie Hebdo is “completely unacceptable”. Just this week, the magazine had republished the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that made many Islam extremists furious. One of the cartoons appeared to show Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban and the decision to reprint these graphics was denounced by Iran. 

Iran’s Supreme leader said, “The grave & unforgivable sin committed by a French weekly in insulting the luminous & holy personality of Prophet (pbuh) revealed, once more, the hostility & malicious grudge harboured by political & cultural organizations in the west against Islam & the Muslim community.”

“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,” he added.

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Macron said Charlie Hebdo had not broken law

Khamenei’s remarks came after France’s President Emmanuel Macron said last week that the French satirical weekly had not broken any law by republishing the cartoons. The magazine had reposted the cartoons to mark the opening of the trial of 14 Islamist gunmen accused of helping the attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish store in 2015 began on September 2. 

Separately, in the Paris Pantheon which is a mausoleum to French heroes,  Macron reportedly noted that “to be French” is to “defend the right to laugh”. Macron stated that at the start of the trial of the attacks of January 2015 that sent shock waves across France, to be French is to ‘defend the right to laugh, jest, mock and caricature’ of which Voltaire maintained that it is the source of all other rights. These remarks came after more than a dozen defendants went on trial this week for their participating in the killing spree in Paris officers of Charlie Hebdo magazine that caused the death of 12 people. 

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