Sarkozy Backs Cartoons, Irks Muslims

Sarkozy accepted that "in the name of freedom, you can laugh at everything." (Reuters)

"I prefer an excess of cartoons than the absence of cartoons," Sarkozy wrote in a letter read at the a court hearing against the publication of the lampooning caricatures by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Describing himself as a "favorite target" of the weekly, Sarkozy, the religious affairs minister and front-runner in the April's presidential elections, said he accepted that "in the name of freedom, you can laugh at everything."

The Paris Grand Mosque and the Union of Islamic Organizations of France are suing Charlie Hebdo for reprinting cartoons commissioned and published by Denmark's Jyllands-Posten daily.

One showed a man described as Prophet Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb, and a second showing him standing on a cloud, turning away suicide bombers from paradise with the caption "Stop, stop, we ran out of virgins."

The cartoons, considered blasphemous under Islam, were later reprinted by European newspapers on claims of freedom of expression, straining Muslim-West ties and triggering massive and sometimes violent demonstrations across the Muslim world.

Charlie Hebdoeditor Philippe Val told the Paris criminal court that the decision to publish the Danish cartoons and a separate drawing by French cartoonist Cabu was intended to "criticize religion as an ideology".

"What is there left to do if you can't laugh at terrorists? If we can't laugh at them, we are done for," he asked.

Resignation

The message from Sarkozy at the opening of the case brought a swift reaction from the umbrella French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM).

Furious at what it saw as government interference, the CFCM summoned an emergency meeting later Wednesday.

A source close to the Paris Mosque rector said the CFCM board may resign in protest.

The CFCM was set up by Sarkozy in 2003 to create national and regional leaderships able to deal with state officials about problems facing French Muslims.

According to its statute, the CFCM deals with the religious aspects of Muslim life in France, such as the construction of mosques, training of imams and nomination of chaplains for hospitals, prisons and the military.

It has in many occasions been criticized for not standing up to the rights of French Muslims, particularly during the controversy trigger by an official ban on wearing hijab in public schools.

Charlie Hebdois answering a complaint of "publicly offending a group of persons on the basis of their religion".

The decision to print the cartoons "was part of a considered plan of provocation aimed against the Islamic community in its most intimate faith, born out of a simplistic Islamophobia as well as purely commercial interests," said the plea before the court.

The plaintiffs are demanding 30,000 euros (38,750 dollars) in damages and want Charlie Hebdo to publish the ruling on the front page of the weekly, if it comes down in their favor.

The hearings into the lawsuit resume on Thursday, but a decision is not expected until later.

A conviction under this offence can also carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a fine of up to 22,500 euros.

France is home to some six to seven million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.