Charlie Hebdo Mohammed cartoons were 'a mistake'

Hayao Miyazaki: Charlie Hebdo Mohammed cartoons were 'a mistake'

Hayao Miyazaki, pictured i

in 2013 at Studio Ghibli in Japan

Studio Ghibli founder Miyazaki believes cartoonists should not target figures venerated by other cultures

The Japanese director, animator and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is famous for his startlingly beautiful animated films, among them Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and, more recently, The Wind Rises. But Miyazaki, who is also known for his anti-war stance andcriticism of some of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's policies, has now waded into the debate surrounding the cartoons of Mohammed published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

On January 7, Islamist terrorists carried out a deadly attack on the magazine's Paris-based offices, motivated by the publication of the drawings.

"I think it’s a mistake to caricature the figures venerated by another culture. You shouldn’t do it," said Miyazaki, when asked how he felt about the controversial cartoons during an interview with the Japanese radio station TBS (via Yahoo! News Japan, translation by rocketnews24.com).

He added: “Instead of doing something like that, you should make more caricatures of your own country’s politicians.”

During the Paris terrorist attacks last month, 12 people were killed, including the magazine's editor, Stéphane Charbonnier.

Charlie Hebdo has a history of publishing satirical cartoons portraying the Islamic prophet Mohammed, but its cartoonists did not exclusively target Muslims. The magazine has satirised Christianity, especially Catholicism, and regularly pokes fun at French political leaders.

Miyazaki's comments may prove divisive. While many applauded Charlie Hebdo's decision to feature the Prophet Mohammed on the cover of the first edition of the magazine published since the attacks, others seem to agree with Miyazaki. Last month, a poll revealed that one in four French people believe that the magazine was wrong to publish the Mohammed cartoons, due to the fact that the images are offensive to Muslims.