There’s been an international outpouring of support for France after the recent terror attacks in Paris that killed 17 people, including staff members of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The global support culminated with a Unity March in Paris attended by dozens of world leaders to how their solidarity for press freedoms.
But new demonstrations have sprung up in other nations - notably Pakistan and Niger – to protest against Charlie Hebdo for the magazine’s use of depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
In one demonstration, an estimated 5,000 people gathered in Lahore, Pakistan to protest, with some holding posters reading, “This is not freedom of expression, it is open aggression against Islam.”
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain even called on Charlie Hebdo to issue an apology for “insulting the faith of others.”
In Niger, at least 10 people were killed and 45 churches burned during demonstrations to protest the cartoon.
The terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba - which has been linked to attacks in India - also encouraged a boycott of French products. Riots against the French satirical publication have also occurred in Turkey and the Philippines.
While Pope Francis denounced the deadly attacks that targeted staffers of Charlie Hebdo, he condemned the mocking of religion in satire.
The discussion focuses on a recent poll that surprisingly found about 42 percent of French citizens oppose the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet, as well as the history of the rule banning depictions of Muhammad.
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