DUBAI: The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has warned France and the editors of Charlie Hebdo magazine that they may face the same fate as Salman Rushdie after the magazine published more cartoons mocking Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Rushdie has received death threats since the 1980s when he published his controversial book “The Satanic Verses.”
He spent nearly 10 years in hiding as the book sparked outrage in Islamic countries, and in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini, then supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa — an Islamic ruling — ordering Muslims to kill the author.
Rushdie was stabbed last year at a literary festival in New York, where he sustained severe injuries.
“I advise the French and directors of the Charlie Hebdo magazine to take a look at the fate of Salman Rushdie,” said Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
“Do not play with Muslims. Salman Rushdie insulted the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet of Islam 30 years ago and hid in dangerous places.”
Charlie Hebdo last week published the winning cartoons in a competition that called for people around the world to draw the most offensive caricatures of the ayatollah as an act of support toward the protest movement in Iran.
The publication of the cartoons has resulted in increased animosity between Iran and France, with the former closing down the French Institute for Research.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the closure of the institute a “first step” in response to the cartoons, and said it would “seriously pursue the case and take the required measures” to hold France accountable.
In the face of these threats, the satirical magazine doubled down and published a magazine cover that mocks Iran again this week. The cover depicts mullahs entering and exiting a naked woman’s womb while her legs are splayed. “It took us a week to find the exit,” reads the caption.
An editorial inside described the cyberattack on Charlie Hebdo’s website after the publication of the special edition last week, which the magazine is investigating but said was “highly likely” to have been carried out by Iran.
The editorial read: “A computer attack does not cause deaths, but it sets the tone.
“The mullahs’ regime would feel so in danger that it would consider it vital for its existence to hack the site of a French newspaper.
“It is an honor but above all proof that their power feels very fragile.”
Iran warns Charlie Hebdo magazine of similar fate to Salman Rushdie
https://arab.news/ma652
Iran warns Charlie Hebdo magazine of similar fate to Salman Rushdie
- ‘Do not play with Muslims,’ says military chief
- The publication of the cartoons has resulted in increased animosity between Iran and France
Foreign media group slams Israel for refusing to lift Gaza press ban
- Foreign Press Association expresses 'profound disappointment' with Israeli government’s response to a Supreme Court appeal
- Israel has barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory since the war started
JERUSALEM: An international media association on Tuesday criticized the Israeli government for maintaining its ban on unrestricted media access to Gaza, calling the move disappointing.
The government had told the Supreme Court in a submission late Sunday that the ban should remain in place, citing security risks in the Gaza Strip.
The submission was in response to a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) — which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and Palestinian territories — seeking immediate and unrestricted access for foreign journalists to the Gaza Strip.
“The Foreign Press Association expresses its profound disappointment with the Israeli government’s latest response to our appeal for full and free access to the Gaza Strip,” the association said on Tuesday.
“Instead of presenting a plan for allowing journalists into Gaza independently and letting us work alongside our brave Palestinian colleagues, the government has decided once again to lock us out” despite the ceasefire in the territory, it added.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, triggered by an attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the government has barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military inside the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The FPA filed its petition in 2024, after which the court granted the government several extensions to submit its response.
Last month, however, the court set January 4 as a final deadline for the government to present a plan for allowing media access to Gaza.
In its submission, the government maintained that the ban should remain in place.
“This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defense establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists,” the government submission said.
The government also said that the search for the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza was ongoing, suggesting that allowing journalists in at this stage could hinder the operation.
The remains of Ran Gvili, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed during Hamas’s 2023 attack, have still not been recovered despite the ceasefire.
The FPA said it planned to submit a “robust response” to the court, and expressed hope the “judges will put an end to this charade.”
“The FPA is confident that the court will provide justice in light of the continuous infringement of the fundamental principles of freedom of speech, the public’s right to know and free press,” the association added.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter, though it is unclear when a decision will be handed down.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
