Le Figaro issue banned in Tunisia because of op-ed piece deemed “offensive to Islam”

Reporters Without Borders voiced regret at a government decision to ban distribution of the 19 September issue of the French daily Le Figaro in Tunisia on the grounds that it contained an op-ed piece that “offended Islam.” The ban was issued under a law for the protection of religion that was used in February to seize copies of the newspaper France Soir containing cartoons of Mohammed. “Without taking a position on the content of the op-ed piece, which was very aggressive towards Muslims, we point out that it is up to Tunisian readers to form their own opinion and not for the Tunisian authorities to filter information,” Reporters Without Borders said. Headlined “What should the free world do in the face of Islamist intimidation?,” the op-ed piece was by Robert Redecker. According to the Tunisian newspaper La Presse, the interior ministry ordered the Le Figaro's confiscation on the grounds of “harmful content offensive to the Prophet, Islam and Muslims.”