Morocco bans French magazine with offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad

By Ahmad Bentaher

RABAT, Morocco (AA) - Morocco banned the distribution of a French magazine containing cartoons deemed offensive to Prophet Muhammad, a government source told Anadolu on Friday.

source, who did not want to be named, said that the ban was imposed on the latest issue of the Marianne magazine dated Feb. 29.

He said the issue "will not be allowed to be distributed in all regions of the kingdom because it contains cartoons offensive to the Prophet."

The press and publication law allows Moroccan authorities to ban the distribution of foreign publications if they contain insults to the Islamic religion, he said.

Article 31 of the press and publication law states that "permission may not be granted for the distribution of foreign prints and foreign periodicals ... if they contain insults to the Islamic religion."

Magazines and newspapers in France and other Western countries publish cartoons deemed offensive to the prophet under the pretext of freedom of expression, which arouses widespread discontent and protests in the Arab and Islamic worlds.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul