DUSHANBE, January 9, 2015, Asia-Plus — The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRP) condemned Wednesday”s shooting attack on a French satirical magazine known for its send-ups of radical Islam.
Condemning the attack, which it called “barbaric,” the IRP notes that it had earlier condemned the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
“But nothing can justify this terrorist act; it [act] incurs nothing but contempt,” the IRP says in its statement, noting that that deadly attack on Paris satirical magazine confirms once again that all nations and religions must combine their efforts in combating extremism and terrorism.
We will recall that 12 people were killed and at least 11 others were wounded Wednesday after gunmen stormed Charlie Hebdo”s central Paris office, prompting France to raise its terror threat level. “We will find the people who did this,” French President François Hollande said. “France is today shocked by this terrorist attack.”
Charlie Hebdo reportedly had a history of publishing controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that angered Muslim leaders in France, the Middle East and other parts of the world. The magazine for years received threats from social media users because depictions of the prophet are forbidden in Islam.
In 2006, the French Council for the Muslim Faith brought a lawsuit against Charlie Hebdo for publishing caricatures of the prophet. In 2007, a Paris court dismissed a lawsuit filed by two Muslim organizations to sue the paper for representing the Prophet Muhammad in cartoons.
In 2011, the magazine was attacked by a petrol bomb after it ran a special Arab Spring edition entitled “Sharia Hebdo” that included a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover as “guest editor.”
In 2012, France temporarily closed its embassies and schools in more than 20 countries to prevent potential terrorist attacks because of Charlie Hebdo”s Prophet Muhammad cartoons.
