Mosque of Paris sues weekly over prophet cartoons

The Mosque of Paris has filed suit against a satirical weekly for publishing three cartoons of Islam's prophet - two of which were among those published by a Danish newspaper that triggered violent protests five months ago, judicial officials said Friday. The suit was filed against Philippe Val, executive editor of Charlie-Hebdo, a satirical magazine known for its caustic humor, and against the Rotatives publishing house for the cartoons, which appeared in a February edition. The Mosque of Paris considers the publication of the cartoons to be "a deliberate act of aggression aimed at offending people of the Muslim religion in their attachment to their faith," the officials said. They were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and asked not to be named. The mosque is the largest in France, where there are an estimated 5 million Muslims. A preliminary hearing was set for late September.