On Wednesday, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the French newspaper “Charlie Hebdo” for publishing cartoons insulting to the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him.
In a written response to a journalist’s question about the incident, the ministry’s spokesman, Hami Aksoy, said that these fees are a disregard for Muslims and a lack of respect for their right.
He added that the re-publication of the cartoons insulting to the Prophet could not be included under the terms of freedom of the press, arts, and expression.
He also stressed that it is unacceptable that some French officials, led by President Emmanuel Macron, sought to justify the incident as part of the freedom of expression.
He added, “””The parties that take pride in their democracy and freedoms at every opportunity must know that they serve fascism and modern racism in France and Europe, by fueling anti-Islam and foreigner hostility with this kind of racist attack.”
Aksoy explained that “this sick mentality that seeks every day to marginalize the millions of Muslims living in peace in their countries is a blow to harmony, unity, and equality in society.”
In conclusion, he called on European officials to take a frank and clear position on the increase in cases of targeting the sacred Islamic values in recent times.
On Tuesday, the satirical newspaper “Charlie Hebdo” announced its intention to re-publish the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, before the trial of the accused in the attack that targeted its headquarters in 2015 begins. And resulted in the deaths of 12 of its employees.
Earlier Wednesday, the trial of those accused of the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris in January 2015 began, involving a Jewish store and the “Charlie Hebdo” newspaper.
On January 7, 2015, the French capital, Paris, witnessed an attack targeting the headquarters of the newspaper, which used to publish cartoons insulting to Islam, followed by 3 other attacks in the following three days, all of which killed 17 people, including 3 of the perpetrators of the attacks.
