Anti-Charlie Hebdo Protests in Afghanistan and Iran
Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across Iran after Friday prayers to condemn French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.
The biggest demonstrations were in cities other than Tehran, with state television showing large crowds angered at the depiction of the prophet.
The image was published one week after 12 people were killed by Islamist gunmen at the magazine's Paris offices because of earlier such cartoons.
"Death to France, death to Israel, death to Britain, death to Charlie Hebdo," the crowds chanted in southern cities such as Qom and Isfahan, carrying flags and placards in reverence to the prophet.
The protests follow a loud but peaceful demonstration Monday outside the French embassy in Tehran where those gathered called for the ambassador to be expelled.
The cartoon has angered many Muslims as images of the prophet are widely considered forbidden in Islam, and triggered protests in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, some of which turned deadly.
Iran denounced the January 7 massacre in the French capital but it also criticized Charlie Hebdo's new cartoon, where the prophet holds a "Je suis Charlie" sign under the heading "All is forgiven".
On January 17, an Iranian newspaper was banned for publishing an "I am Charlie" headline on its front page, words that have come to symbolize the fight for freedom of expression after the Paris attack.
At the same time, at least 20,000 people protested in the western Afghan city of Herat.
The demonstrators burned French flags, chanted death slogans against France and demanded Paris apologize to Muslims in Afghanistan's biggest rally yet against the weekly.
A smaller protest was held in the capital Kabul, where a few demonstrators threw stones at the French embassy, prompting guards to fire one or two warning shots.
"No Muslim can tolerate insults to our beloved prophet Mohammed, we demand the French government apologize to all Muslims and punish those who have insulted Islam," said one protester in Herat.
There have been small, sporadic protests across Afghanistan since the magazine ran a cover image of the prophet with a tear in his eye, holding a sign saying "Je suis Charlie".
That "survivors' edition" followed an attack on the magazine's offices in Paris in which 12 people were gunned down by Islamist militants. The massacre triggered a huge outpouring of anger and grief on social media, much of it using the hashtag "#jusuisCharlie".
An AFP reporter at the scene in Herat and the provincial governor's spokesman Ehsanullah Hayat said the crowd was at least 20,000 strong.
In Kabul, several thousand people rallied in the city center chanting "death to France, death to the enemies of Islam".
The protesters in Kabul also held posters depicting a red heart and the name of the Prophet as they marched on the streets of Kabul.
"We condemn those who published our prophet's cartoons and we curse those who have done this vicious act," said Abdul Salam Abid, a leading cleric in central Kabul mosque among the protesters.
"This gathering is a slap in the face of those who have desecrated our beloved prophet," he said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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