The Salafist Front organised a march Friday to the French embassy in Cairo following the publication of cartoons in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that they believe mocks the prophet Mohammed.

The march began at the El-Estekama Mosque in the district of Giza and converged on Charles de Gaulle Street, in the same district, where the embassy lies.

The cartoons were part of a special Arab spring edition entitled “Sharia Hebdo” (Sharia referring to Islamic law) which featured the prophet Mohammed on the cover as “guest editor.” The magazine’s Paris office was firebombed at 1am on 2 November hours before the “sharia” edition was to hit newsstands.

According to Khaled Said, the official spokesperson of the Front, this is the second march organised by the group to protest the publication of the cartoons. However, he added that today’s protest is targeted specifically at the French government which defended the publication of the cartoons as a form of freedom of expression.

He also added that the Front will launch a campaign to urge people to boycott French products in Egypt if the French do not show more respect to Islam.

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