Iran infuriated as Charlie Hebdo reprints ‘sacrilegious’ cartoons

Unsurprisingly, Khamenei’s statement filled newsstands in Iran, where newspapers remain under strict supervision by the theocratic apparatus, entirely controlled by the supreme leader. As a rule, all media outlets running Khamenei’s speeches are handed official versions, against which critical commentary is a well established red line.

Despite slamming the sketches as “a big and unforgivable sin,” Khamenei fell short of issuing a fatwa of death, marking a shift from the his predecessor’s reactions toward similar controversies. Back in 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led a revolution against the Iranian monarchy and founded the Islamic Republic, formally issued a death fatwa against British-Indian author Salman Rushdie.

The fatwa, which called on all Muslims to execute Rushdie if they get the chance, came after Rushdie’s magical realism novel, “The Satanic Verses,” sparked outrage across the Muslim world. While Rushdie has not been harmed, the fatwa is still in place and has been openly defended by Khamenei as “unchangeable.”