Charlie Hebdo, whose cartoons sparked terror attacks in France, published a cutting caricature of Turkish President Erdogan amid his feud with Macron

• The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday published a caricature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid his tensions with French President Emmanuel Macron.
• The cartoon depicts Erdogan sitting in his underwear, drinking a beer, and lifting up a woman’s hijab to expose her bare backside. Most Muslims consider drinking alcohol haram, or forbidden.
• Erdogan has vocally condemned Macron’s recent attacks on Islam, saying on Saturday the French president “needs a mental check.”
• On October 2, Macron had announced a law to monitor and regulate France’s Islamic communities. Support for the law strengthened after the October 16 killing of a teacher who showed his class cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad.
• Charlie Hebdo’s inflammatory cartoons that mocked the Prophet has prompted several terror attacks in recent years.
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The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday published a searing caricature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, amid high tensions between him and French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Saturday, Erdogan said Macron needed a “mental check” following a series of comments from the French president where he criticized Islam and said it needed regulation in France.

In response, Paris recalled its ambassador from Ankara on Sunday, with Erdogan joining a call for Islamic nations to boycott French products on Monday.

Charlie Hebdo, whose 2015 cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad had inspired several terror attacks, weighed in on Wednesday.

—Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) October 27, 2020

The cartoon depicts Erdogan sitting in his t-shirt and underwear, drinking a beer, and lifting up a woman’s hijab to expose her bare backside.

Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, by most Muslims, and Erdogan has long condemned it.

"Ouuuh! The Prophet!" the speech bubble from Erdogan's mouth read, suggesting that Erdogan is only pretending to be a staunch defender of Islam.

The headline published alongside the cartoon reads: "Erdogan: In private, he is very funny!"

Turkish officials slammed the cartoon on social media.

"You cannot deceive anyone by hiding behind freedom of opinion! I condemn the immoral publication of the inexcusable French rag about our President," Fuat Oktay, the vice president, tweeted.

Turkey's communications director, Fahrettin Altun, tweeted: "We condemn this most disgusting effort by this publication to spread its cultural racism and hatred."

Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's spokesman, tweeted: "We strongly condemn the publication of the French magazine, which has no respect for any faith, sacred and value, about our President."

Macron has not publicly commented on Wednesday's caricature.

On October 2, Macron called Islam "a religion in crisis all over the world" and announced a new law which would see his government monitor how mosques and Islamic communities are funded, as well as train clerics in France.

The law gained new relevance on October 16, when Samuel Paty, a teacher, was decapitated in northern Paris after showing his class the 2015 Charlie Hebdo cartoon that mocked the Prophet Muhammad.

Creating or proliferating images of God or the Prophet is not permissible in Islam and is considered blasphemous.

The attacks prompted by the Charlie Hebdo cartoons have seen Macron spend the last three years criticizing Islamic separatism in France and outlining his plan to eradicate home-grown extremism.

At a memorial service for Paty last week, Macron defended Charlie Hebdo, saying the country "will not give up our cartoons."

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