A NEWSAGENTS in Oxford run by a Muslim has decided to sell the latest edition of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo despite criticism from a cleric.
Wendy News in Broad Street has ordered about 500 copies of the weekly magazine, the latest edition of which displays a cartoon of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad on the front page.
Shop owner Eshar Abdul Kareem, who is Muslim, said: “Our decision behind ordering the magazine was because many customers came into the shop and wanted to buy it and wanted to know if we were going to sell it.
“People were saying they wanted to see what the front cover looked like and what was written inside, so we thought we would try to get it in and we have managed to get a delivery for next week.”
Five million copies have been printed to satisfy increased demand for the first magazine since the terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris on January 7, which left 12 people dead.
The latest front cover sparked outrage locally with Dr Hojjat Ramzy, director of the Islamic Information Centre in George Street, claiming the whole of the Muslim community has been insulted.