Protests and Marches in Muslim Countries Against Charlie Hebdo

On the first Friday after the killing of Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, the perpetrators of the massacre at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, groups of Muslims around the world praised the actions of these two brothers, and in Iran, Friday prayer leaders strongly condemned those who insulted the sanctities of Islam. A number of Muslims in Turkey gathered on January 16 in one of Istanbul's major mosques to pray for the souls of the two French-Algerian brothers. According to Turkish media reports, dozens of men attended the ceremony. Those standing in the front held a large banner depicting the Kouachi brothers on the right and Osama bin Laden, the deceased leader of al-Qaeda, on the left. The banner identified these individuals as the "Brothers of Ansar." The prayer for the Kouachi brothers in Turkey coincided with the recent publication of cartoons from the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo by the Cumhuriyet newspaper, which triggered angry reactions from some Muslims in the country. Simultaneously, some Palestinians in Jerusalem also prayed for the Kouachi brothers and praised their actions, stating that these two brought "the offenders against the Prophet of Islam to justice for their disgraceful actions." After the prayers, Palestinian worshippers in Jerusalem burned the French flag. The Palestinian news agency "Shahab," aligned with Hamas, published videos of the flag burning on its website. On the same Friday in Algeria, police clashes in the capital to disperse demonstrators angered by Charlie Hebdo's repeated publication of cartoons of the Prophet resulted in injuries to several police officers. Demonstrators chanted in Arabic and French, "I am Muhammad," and "We defend our religion." The parents of Saïd and Chérif Kouachi had immigrated from Algeria to France about forty years ago. In Niger, demonstrations by Muslims after Friday prayers condemning the cartoons of the Prophet escalated into violence. Angry Muslims in Niger attacked churches and businesses belonging to their Christian compatriots. Police in the city of Zinder fired tear gas at hundreds of Muslims who had also set tires on fire to disperse them. Niger is among the former French colonies in Africa. In Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of Muslims protested against Charlie Hebdo and "insults to the Prophet" in Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, and other cities. During the Karachi protests outside the French consulate, a photographer from the French news agency was one of the seriously injured in the violent events. "Shame on Charlie" and "I am Kouachi if you are Charlie" were some of the slogans held by Muslims in Pakistan. Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan also left parliament on Thursday in Islamabad and chanted against Charlie Hebdo. In Iran, Friday prayer leaders in many cities condemned Charlie Hebdo and what they called the brazen freedom of expression in the West and insults to the sanctities of Islam. Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the Friday prayer leader in Tehran, said regarding Western countries and Charlie Hebdo, "Let these criminals show their ugly faces and reveal their enmity towards Islam so that the Islamic world awakens and does not rely on the worthless." Mohammadi Kermani described the drawing of cartoons of the Prophet of Islam as "a disgrace" under the pretext of freedom of expression and condemned it strongly. He continued, "Thank God those who supported terrorism and ISIS, and nurtured them in their bosom, are now facing their own fate." Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister who was visiting France, expressed his "sympathy" to the families of the 17 French victims killed in recent attacks by armed Islamists during a meeting with his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius. However, earlier, Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, referred to the publication of a new cartoon of the Prophet of Islam in the French weekly "Charlie Hebdo" as "offensive" and condemned the act, stating that "the misuse of freedom of expression in the West is unacceptable." Four of the victims in France were four Jews from a Jewish supermarket in Paris. The praise from groups of Muslims in the Middle East and around the world for the actions of the two French-Algerian brothers for "revenge" against Charlie Hebdo, which had also published cartoons of the Prophet in previous years, occurred five days after a large unity march in France. Saïd and Chérif Kouachi killed twelve people and injured several others during the attack ten days ago on the Charlie Hebdo office and the two-day manhunt that followed. They were killed two days after the attack by French special forces in northeast Paris. Al-Qaeda in Yemen announced in recent days that the attack on the Charlie Hebdo office was carried out on the orders of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in an interview with Reuters on January 16, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "committing terrorism," stating, "The provocations and killings by Israel have radicalized Muslims around the world." Davutoglu told Reuters that peace in the Middle East and rooting out extremist groups is impossible without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Jim Clancy, a famous CNN anchor and producer, announced his resignation from the network on Friday following comments he made on Twitter regarding supporters of Israel. Clancy had criticized supporters of Israel for turning the events in France into an opportunity to promote their views in favor of Israel in tweets. It seems that Clancy was forced to resign. Helen Thomas, a veteran White House reporter, also found herself in a position where she had to resign several years ago after making comments regarding Israel. In this context, Zarif expressed his "sympathy" to the survivors of the recent Paris attacks. Arrest of 27 suspects linked to the "Islamic State" in Europe. Obama and Cameron: We will not allow terrorists to trample on freedom of expression. Pope Francis: One cannot insult the beliefs of others. Changing the battlefield of "proxies"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalization of Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis.