Satirical Paper Firebombed Over Mohammed Joke

A satirical French newspaper's offices were firebombed early this morning, one day after announcing this week's issue would feature the Prophet Mohammed as "editor-in-chief." Charlie Hebdo, long known for taking an irreverent stance with regard to all religions, also featured cartoon depictions of Mohammed on the cover (he's shown saying "100 lashes if you are not dying of laughter") and inside—a practice that Islam prohibits, the BBC notes. The Molotov cocktail destroyed all the newspaper’s equipment, reports the Telegraph, citing local sources. No injuries were reported.

Its website has been hacked, displaying a message cursing the paper and accusing it of "abusing Islam's almighty Prophet with disgusting and disgraceful cartoons using excuses of freedom of speech." The Mohammed issue, out today, is meant to “celebrate the victory of the Islamist Ennahda party in Tunisia,” the paper said in a statement. Charlie Hebdo had already made some Muslims angry in 2007, when it reprinted the controversial Danish cartoons of Mohammad. (More Prophet Muhammed stories.)