Tunisian children’s magazine sued over publishing Molotov recipe

A Tunisian children’s magazine “Qaws Qouzah” (Rainbow) has recently published a detailed step-by-step instruction of how to make a Molotov cocktail. Now the periodical is facing a lawsuit for endangering kids’ lives, according to various media reports. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the Tunisian Ministry for Women and Family Affairs has expressed concern that the article’s content poses a threat to children’s lives, as it “encourages” the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of “vandalism or terrorism.” Published under the “Knowledge Corner” of the popular magazine, the article contained detailed instructions, using colorful illustration, on the assembly of the deadly mix. “Molotov cocktail – is a home-made incendiary weapon which consists of a glass bottle and a folded cloth dipped in a flammable liquid – oil, alcohol, petrol,” the article read. “The name was coined by Finnish soldiers in World War II in honor of Vyacheslav Molotov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union during the Winter War, also known as the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940,” it said, according to Bloomberg. “The unit should be ignited and thrown at the enemy. After the initial contact, the bottle breaks and penetrates the target,” it read. The magazine, which has a decades-long history, is very popular in Tunisia and is mostly read by boys and girls aged 5 to 15 and it never had any political orientation. The article touched a raw nerve in a country still seeking to control the chaos and popular unrest stirred up by last year’s successful revolution, the first of the Arab Spring, which forced former Tunisian president Zein ElAbedein bin Ali to flee the country. It is up to the judge to decide on the case; however, charges that could be directed against publishers might include incitement to violence, according to Stuff news website. Tunisia’s revolution led to the democratic election of a transitional government headed by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party. However, violence still persists among extreme religious groups, during which Molotov bombs could be used as weapons. Last month thousands of angry Muslim activists stormed the U.S. embassy in Tunis and burned the American flag and set buildings on fire, following the release of a trailer on YouTube for an anti-Islam movie – made on the U.S. soil – mocking Islam’s Prophet Mohammed. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, demonstrators used Molotov cocktails as they expressed their anger over the low-cost movie ‘Innocence of Muslims’. Al Arabiya .