Pakistani protesters burn a French flag during a protest against the printing of satirical sketches of the Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Peshawar, Pakistan on Jan. 16, 2015.A. Majeed—AFP/Getty Images
Demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Pakistan to protest the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo on Friday, two days after the newspaper published its first issue since the massacre at its offices by Islamist extremists.
Protesters clashed with police in Karachi, according to Reuters, and a photographer for the AFP was wounded amid the violence.
Charlie Hebdo, which has drawn the ire of some Muslims in the past for lampooning Islam among other subjects, published an issue on Wednesday less than a week after terror attacks across Paris left 17 dead, including eight of its journalists.
The cover of the issue, which has been criticized by Muslim leaders as a provocation, features a tearful Prophet Mohammed. Muslims consider any visual representation of the prophet to be blasphemous.
Sometimes violent protests have broken out in countries around the world, including in Niger and Sudan. But Muslim leaders elsewhere have appealed for restraint.
“Most Muslims will inevitably be hurt, offended and upset by the republication of the cartoons,” reads a statement on the Muslim Council of Britain’s website. “But our reaction must be a reflection of the teachings of the gentle and merciful character of the prophet (peace be upon him).”
Supporters of banned Islamic charity Jamat-ud-Dawa protest controversial French magazine Charlie Hebdo's decision to publish a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in Peshawar, Pakistan on Jan. 16, 2015. Arshad Arbab—EPAPolicemen guard a road leading to the U.S. consulate during a protest against satirical French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which featured a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad as the cover of its first edition since an attack by Islamist gunmen, in Lahore, Pakistan on Jan. 15, 2015.Mohsin Raza—ReutersSupporters of a Pakistani religious group rally to protest against caricatures published in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Lahore, Pakistan on Jan. 15, 2015. K.M. Chaudary—APPakistani activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party throw stones toward riot police during a protest against the printing of satirical sketches of the Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Karachi, Pakistan on Jan.16, 2015. Asif Hassan—AFP/Getty ImagesA policeman uses his gun to disperse protesters during a protest against satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo, which featured a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad as the cover of its first edition since an attack by Islamist gunmen, in Karachi, Pakistan on Jan. 16, 2015. Akhtar Soomro—ReutersA supporter of Pakistani religious group Jamaat-i-Islami tries to escape a water canon during a protest against caricatures published in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, near the French Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan on Jan. 16, 2015. Shakil Adil—APPakistani journalists help a colleague who was injured in clashes between police and the supporters of Islamic political party Jamat-e-Islami during a protest against the French magzine 'Charlie Hebdo' for publishing the caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, in Karachi, Pakistan on Jan. 16, 2015. Rehan Khan—EPAPakistani protesters burn a French flag during a protest against the printing of satirical sketches of the Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Peshawar, Pakistan on Jan. 16, 2015. A. Majeed—AFP/Getty Images
