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French Weekly Reprints Muhammad Cartoons

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A French satirical weekly has reprinted the cartoons that insulted the Prophet Muhammad, and added a new caricature on its front page Wednesday.

The additional cartoon shows the prophet burying his face in his hands and saying, "It is hard to be loved by fools."

French Muslim organizations asked a court to bar the satire journal Charlie-Hebdo from republishing the original drawings, but the legal action was rejected Tuesday.

The United Nations, the European Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference are appealing for calm in the wake of widespread Muslim outrage over the cartoons - the most notorious of which portrays Muhammad as a terrorist with a bomb hidden in his turban.

A joint statement by the international organizations says the controversial cartoons are deplorable, but it also says the recent explosion of violent outrage by Muslim protesters has been alarming.

The caricatures first appeared in a Danish newspaper nearly five months ago, but demonstrations increased rapidly and turned violent only recently. The Wall Street Journal newspaper, which calls the outbursts "a tsunami of rage," has questioned whether Muslim clerics around the world worked deliberately to intensify the protests.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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