KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak has called the anti-Islam film that sparked protests across the Islamic world and the publication of nude caricatures of Prophet Mohamed by a French magazine “unnecessarily inflammatory.” His comments come as tension over the film, and protests, have begun to calm, but fears remain that the nude cartoons published by France's Charlie Hebdo this week could spark new anger among Muslims. “The anti-Islam film, the “Innocence of Muslims," and the publication in a French magazine of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad are unnecessarily inflammatory to those of the Muslim faith,” the PM said in a statement sent to Bikyamasr.com. “The video in question was deeply offensive and has rightly been condemned by leaders across the world. And while Charlie Hebdo may not have broken French law in publishing the caricatures, we question their ethical judgement in deliberately creating further provocation at a time when tensions are already running high,” he added. He called for Muslims and the Islamic world to remain calm and use nonviolent methods to criticize the publication of both the film and the cartoons. “I urge Muslims to remain peaceful and not resort to violence as a means of showing dissatisfaction. Now, more than ever, each of us has a responsibility to work together for greater respect, tolerance and understanding so we may live in harmony. This is why here in Malaysia we have invited people of all faiths to join us in forming a Global Movement of the Moderates," his statement added. The cartoons were the latest anti-Islam attack and have seen many Muslims across the world condemn the magazine for what they said was provocation. In Jakarta, Indonesian Muslim activists told Bikyamasr.com that the cartoons are “unforgivable" and planned to organize a demonstration at the French embassy in protest. “This is simply unacceptable that they are allowed to be published," said university student Amran Aziz, who added that he was “angry that the cartoons were not more condemned than nude photos of Kate Middleton." The publishing of the cartoons, which featured several caricatures of the Prophet showing him nude in what the publishers said was an attempt to “poke fun" at the furor over the anti-Islam film that led to protests across the Islamic world over the past week. One cartoon, entitled “Mohammad: a star is born", depicted a bearded figure crouching over to display his buttocks and genitals. In Malaysia, local sheikh Mohammad Omar in Kuala Lumpur told Bikyamasr.com that the future of Islam's relations with the west is likely to be figured out in the near future after these “blatant attempts to create anger and violence." He argued that the French government must close the magazine for its cartoons and said that Paris must understand the anger that these will create. “I fear that when the cartoons are seen by the ultra-conservatives in the Islamic world, we could see protests even worse than over the film," he argued. “I hope not, but portraying the Prophet in this way is way over the line and a sign that people in the west want to spark hate." The French government, which had urged the weekly not to print the cartoons, said it was shutting embassies and schools in 20 countries as a precaution on Friday, when protests sometimes break out after Muslim prayers. The government has also condemned the publication for stoking anger in the Islamic world.
