Morocco Bans French Newspapers Republishing Charlie Hebdo Prophet Cartoons

"We will never lie down. We will never give up," wrote Riss, the publisher of Charlie Hebdo, in this new issue to justify the re-publication of the act by which evil came.

In the same vein, several French newspapers, usually distributed in Morocco, have also decided to reprint the cartoons. They have all officially been censored in the Kingdom, according to TelQuel, which has it from a source close to the Ministry of Culture.

It is Article 31 of the Press Code that gives authority to the communication department of the Ministry of Culture. Because, according to this article, these foreign publications contain blasphemous cartoons that offend the Islamic religion. This is therefore an official censorship, indicates the same source.

The same position is taken by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), for whom these cartoons "do not serve the differences that exist between cultures". Similarly, in Pakistan, hundreds of angry protesters demonstrated against the re-publication of these cartoons on September 3.

To recall, Morocco had taken the same position following the Charlie Hebdo attacks, with the promise made at the time by Mustapha El Khalfi, former Minister of Communication and government spokesman: "We have banned all newspapers containing the Prophet’s cartoons published in Charlie Hebdo, and will ban any future issue publishing these images or others offending the Prophet." The promise is kept.