Italian Foreign Minster Giulio Terzi on Wednesday described a French weekly’s ridiculing of Prophet Mohammed as “irresponsible sensationalism” which has fuelled anger in the Muslim world.The French magazine Charlie Hebdo Wednesday portrayed Prophet Mohammad naked in cartoons, exacerbating the outrage in the Muslim world after a US-produced anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” already sparked protests all over the world last week.
“Religions are fundamental, they are important for many billions of people, and no one should allow themselves to mock them or joke about these values,” Terzi said.
The minister criticised that some people in the West were guilty of “irresponsible sensationalism” by abusing “deep religious sensibilities that must be respected for personal advantage”.
Pointed out that it was possible to prosecute those who had offended religion under Italy’s criminal code, the French minister said: “I think this should be a common principle to all the countries of the world.”
“Religions are fundamental, they are important for many billions of people, and no one should allow themselves to mock them or joke about these values,” Terzi said.
The minister criticised that some people in the West were guilty of “irresponsible sensationalism” by abusing “deep religious sensibilities that must be respected for personal advantage”.
Pointed out that it was possible to prosecute those who had offended religion under Italy’s criminal code, the French minister said: “I think this should be a common principle to all the countries of the world.”
