Charlie Hebdo's decision to depict the
Prophet Mohammed on its front cover yesterday has angered Muslims around the world who called it a renewed insult to their religion. Around three million copies of the French satirical newspaper hit the stands this morning for the first since the terror attack on its office which killed 12 people. The front cover showed a weeping Mohammed, holding a sign reading
'I am Charlie' with the words
'All is forgiven' above him.
Such was its immediate popularity, the print run has since been increased to five million after issues sold out within minutes. Copies have since been changing hands on eBay for three-figure sums as customers rush to get their hands on the edition.
But many Muslims believe their faith forbids depictions of the prophet and reacted with dismay and occasionally anger to the latest cover image. Some felt their expressions of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo after last week's attack had been rebuffed, while others feared the cartoon would trigger yet more violence.
'You're putting the lives of others at risk when you're taunting bloodthirsty and mad terrorists,' said
Hamad Alfarhan, a 29-year old Kuwaiti doctor. In the Philippines, there were angry protests at the front cover and also the perceived double standards by the West.
It came as Nigerian extremist group
Boko Haram hailed the Paris massacres.
'We are indeed happy with what happened in France. We are happy over what befell the people of France... as their blood was shed inside their country as they (try to) safeguard their blood,' the group's leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video posted online.
Meanwhile,
Abbas Shumann, deputy to the Grand Sheik of Cairo's influential Al-Azhar mosque, said the new image was
'a blatant challenge to the feelings of Muslims who had sympathised with this newspaper.' But he said Muslims should ignore the cover and respond by
'showing tolerance, forgiveness and shedding light on the story of the prophet.'
Culled from: MailOnline
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