Journalists Syndicate condemns French magazine for Prophet Mohamed cartoon

The provocative French news magazine Charlie Hebdo has once again elicited international condemnation for a front-page cartoon that Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate has decried as offensive to Islam, the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm (AMAY) reported.

Beneath a headline proclaiming “French Muslims are fed up with Islamism,” the cartoon on Charlie Hebdo’s October 1 cover depicted a sacrifice, in keeping with this week’s Eid holidays — but in this case, a masked extremist is holding a knife to the neck of the Prophet Mohamed. Titled “If [Prophet] Mohamed came back…,” a bearded man on his knees pleads, “But I’m the prophet, stupid,” while the masked assailant responds, “Shut up, infidel.”

In a statement released Sunday, the Journalists Syndicate condemned the cartoon as a concerted attempt to cast a pall on this important Muslim holiday. It also accused Charlie Hebdo of being affiliated with a Zionist lobby.

The Lawyers Syndicate also released a statement lambasting the cartoon, calling it offensive to Muslims and demeaning to the Prophet Mohamed, and denouncing the constant negative portrayal of Islam and Muslims in foreign media.

Charlie Hebdo has a long history of provoking the ire of Muslims worldwide for its satirical cartoons that many say are Islamophobic. The magazine has consistently defended its position under the banner of free speech.

In 2011, the magazine’s offices were attacked with Molotov cocktails, its website was hacked, its Facebook page suspended and death threats were levied against several of its employees after the publication of a special edition on Sharia, “guest edited by Prophet Mohamed.” The edition’s cover bore a cartoon of the prophet threatening “100 lashes if you don’t die of laughter.”

Undeterred by the attack, the magazine followed that edition with a cover illustration showing a male Charlie Hebdo cartoonist kissing a Muslim man under the title, “Love is stronger than hate.”

In September 2012, shortly after the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” YouTube video went viral, provoking violent demonstrations across the world, Charlie Hebdo put the Prophet Mohamed on its cover once again, along with several other cartoons within its pages that critics called obscene. A Syrian group in France filed legal charges against the magazine, accusing it of inciting hatred, while Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood administration exhorted its French counterparts to take legal action against the publication.