French Magazine Publishes Cartoons Mocking Muhammad,Security tightened at embassies

France diplomatic missions closed on Friday
France  has declared  to temporarily close its embassies and schools in 20 countries on Friday  as French magazine's latest   move  will further inflame tensions over anti- Islam film.



Security at French embassies around the world has been reinforced after the Paris-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons mocking the prophet Muhammad.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius earlier announced that he had ordered special security measures “in all the countries where this could pose a problem.”

Fabius admitted that he was “concerned” by the potential for a backlash to satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s printing of a series of cartoons featuring the Prophet Mohammed against a background of violent protests in the Muslim world over an anti- Islam film.

 Timing of cartoon is bad?

Ministers have criticised the timing of Charlie Hebdo's publication of the cartoons butsaid  they support the magazine's right to express its opinions however it sees fit and no matter how much offence it causes.

 
But critics say  that the same type of freedom of expression  is not provided to French Muslims who want to give vent to their anger over the cartoons.


 

French expatriates in Muslim countries  are tense as the weekend  is nearing  amid fears they could be swept up in a rising tide of anger over controversial depictions of Mohammed (PBUH).

 

Protests that have left over 30 people dead in the last week have, until now, largely been targeted at the United States, which has had to carry the can for the California-produced "Innocence of Muslims" film.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls banned all protests over the "Innocence of Muslims" following a violent demonstration last weekend near the US embassy in Paris and has made it clear he will not sanction any mass protests over the cartoons either.

Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices were fire bombed last November

Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices were fire bombed last November after it published a mocking caricature of Muhammad.

In 2005, Danish cartoons of the Prophet sparked a wave of violent protests across the Muslim world that killed at least 50 people.


Already massive protests  are being witnessed in the Arab world, Africa, Asia and some Western countries because of the anti-islam film.French Prime Minister Jean- Marc Ayrault said the authorities had rejected a request to hold a march against the film in Paris.

Fresh Afghan protest against anti- Islam film

 About 1,000 protesters took to the streets in eastern Afghanistan, blocking a key road to Kabul in the latest demonstrations against a US-made anti- Islam film, witnesses said.

The protesters, mostly university students, chanted "Death to America" and "Death to the enemies of Islam."More than 30 people have died in incidents linked to the trailer of the film.

 A female suicide bomber killed 12 people in Afghanistan yesterday in the deadliest single attack attributed to the controversial film, which has sparked furious protests across the Muslim world.

On Monday about 1,000 people clashed with police in Kabul in protests against the movie. Hundreds of students clashed with police in the northern town of Kunduz yesterday.

Afghanistan has a history of street protests turning violent, particularly over perceived insults to Islam.

 Riots triggered over the accidental burning of copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, earlier this year at a US base killed around 40 people.