Agencies
Doha/Paris
Qatar yesterday expressed “strong condemnation and denunciation” of the attack by gunmen on Paris weekly Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people.
“Such acts that target unarmed civilians contradict all principles and moral and human values,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Ministry extended condolences and sympathy to the French government and the families of the victims, wishing speedy recovery to the injured.
Gunmen stormed the offices of the weekly, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and a grenade launcher.
Editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier and three cartoonists were among those killed in the attack.
Charlie Hebdo had attracted controversy by publishing satirical cartoons offensive to Islam.
The International Union of Muslim Scholars, led by Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, also condemned the “sinful” attack, “regardless of who are the culprits and who is behind them”.
It urged “French authorities and people to unite against extremism regardless of its religion or belief”.
“Those who are committing such crimes aim to sow sedition,” the union said.
The imam of one of France’s major cities, Bordeaux, urged Muslims to take to the streets in protest at the deadly attack, calling it “almost an act of war”.
Imam Tareq Oubrou, a supporter of dialogue between Christians and Muslims, said after meeting Pope Francis that the attack on Charlie Hebdo, was “tantamount to what September 11 meant to America”.