The deadly attack by Islamist gunmen on the offices of French newspaper Charlie Hebdo drew a somewhat unexpected response from Iranian clerics and officials: They condemned it.
Many Westerners had expected an altogether different reaction to the killings two weeks ago at the Paris weekly that had published satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
Still fresh in their memory is the “fatwa” issued in 1989 by Iran’s first religious Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, ordering the death of British author Salman Rushdie for allegedly insulting the Prophet in his book “The Satanic Verses.”
Some 25 years on, Iran’s stance must be viewed in light of the bitter sectarian rivalry in the Middle East between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims, political analysts say.
The Paris attack was claimed by al-Qaeda, a leading Sunni militant movement which, along with its offshoot Islamic State, Shi’ite power Iran regards as a serious threat to its allies in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
Iran is also treading a delicate line as it seeks to strike a deal with Western powers - including France - over its nuclear programme to put an end to the sanctions that have crippled its economy.
In a Friday prayer speech in Tehran two days after the Jan. 7 Charlie Hebdo attack, which saw gunmen kill 12 people, conservative cleric Ahmad Khatami denounced the violence.
“We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in France and believe Islam does not allow the killing of innocent people, be it in Paris, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan or Afghanistan,” said the hardliner - who last year said the fatwa to kill Rushdie was still in place.
