Gaza Extremists Protest Charlie Hebdo Cartoons of Prophet Muhammed
Hamas security forces allowed a rare rally on Monday by rival jihadist Salafi activists in the Gaza Strip in support of Islamic State and the deadly attacks by three Islamist gunmen in France.
“Today, we are telling France and world countries that while Islam orders us to respect all religions, it also orders us to punish and kill those who assault and offend Islam’s Prophet Mohammad,” said one of the protesters, Abu Abdallah al-Makdissi.
The demonstration was held five days after French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in its first issue since two gunmen burst into its Paris office on Jan. 7 and shot dead 12 people, again published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad, sparking violent clashes in some Muslim countries.
Many of the activists in Gaza, an enclave dominated by the Hamas Islamist group, wore uniforms similar to those of Islamic State fighters and identified themselves as supporters of various jihadist Salafi factions.
Gaza’s Salafis are proponents of global holy war endorsed by Islamic State and al Qaeda. Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel’s destruction, says it does not operate abroad, and it has shown little tolerance for Salafi movements in the Gaza Strip, occasionally fighting gun battles with their members.
Dozens of Hamas police were deployed at the rally and outside the gates of the French cultural center, where the demonstrators gathered after burning French flags.
Jihadist Salafis held aloft posters of the two gunmen who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack and a third militant who killed four people two days later at a kosher supermarket in Paris. All three attackers were killed by police on Jan. 9.
“You have to await more heroes of Islam, you worshippers of the Cross,” the crowd chanted.
Toward the end of the rally, scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police, who fired into the air to disperse the protest.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!