Newspapers rerun Islamic cartoons

From combined dispatches

PARIS — Declaring that democracy includes the “right to blasphemy,” French and German newspapers yesterday republished caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that have riled the Muslim world.

The front page of the daily France Soir, which is owned by an Egyptian businessman, carried the headline “Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God” along with a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud. Inside, the paper reran the drawings.

La Stampa in Italy, El Periodico in Spain and Dutch paper Volkskrank also carried some of the drawings, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Late yesterday, France Soir owner Raymond Lakah said he would remove Jacques Lefranc as managing director. He expressed regret “to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication” of the cartoons, a statement said.

The Danish daily Jyllands-Posten originally published the cartoons in September after asking artists to depict Islam’s prophet to challenge what it perceived was self-censorship among artists dealing with Islamic issues. A Norwegian newspaper reprinted the images last month.

The depictions include an image of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. Another shows him saying that paradise was running short of virgins for suicide bombers. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet to prevent idolatry.

Angered by the drawings, masked Palestinian gunmen briefly took over a European Union office in Gaza on Monday. Saudi Arabia, Syria and Libya recalled their ambassadors to Denmark.

The Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods said its sales in the Middle East have dropped as a result of a boycott of Danish products across the region. The company is preparing to lay off 140 employees.

The Jyllands-Posten, which received a bomb threat over the drawings, has apologized for hurting Muslims’ feelings but not for publishing the cartoons.

Editor Carsten Juste said the international furor amounted to a victory for opponents of free expression.

“Those who have won are dictatorships in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, where they cut criminals’ hands and give women no rights,” Mr. Juste said. “The dark dictatorships have won.”

Although some Muslims are boycotting Danish products, a “Buy Danish” campaign has sprung up on the Internet in support of the newspapers’ rights, with non-Muslims being urged to buy Danish cheese, hams and chocolates.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Council of Moroccan religious leaders denounced the drawings yesterday.

“Muslim beliefs cannot tolerate such an attack, however small it may be,” the statement said.

In France, which is home to about 5 million Muslims, Mohammed Bechari, president of the National Federation of the Muslims of France, said his group would start legal proceedings against France Soir because of “these pictures that have disturbed us, and that are still hurting the feelings of 1.2 billion Muslims.”