By ASSOCIATED PRESS
The managing editor of a French daily that republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad has been fired, the paper said Thursday, as debate over the drawings mounted among French Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
The drawings, which first ran in a Danish paper in September and have riled the Muslim world, were reprinted Wednesday in France Soir and in several other European papers rallying to defend freedom of expression.
The cartoons include an image of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse, and another portraying him holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle.
The front page of France Soir on Wednesday carried the headline "Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God" and a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud.