Charlie Hebdo is back with yet another Islamophobic cartoon

In its latest edition, the cartoon mocks the common statement "Islam is the religion of peace," which is often used to indicate that the religion in its essence, away from fundamentalist interpretations of its teachings, calls for peace rather than violence. 

The cartoon depicts two people in pools of blood who have been run over by a van, with the words: "Islam: religion of peace... Eternal!".

This comes in reference to the suspected extremists of Moroccan decent who rammed a van through the crowds in Barcelona on August 17, leaving 15 people dead and more than 100 others injured. 

Feeding into the Islamophobic rhetoric that insists that the religion is inherently violent, Charlie Hebdo's cover lumps all Muslims - who make up some 1.5 billion people around the world - under one pool of radicalized murderers.

"We were expecting it. Another Charlie Hebdo cover to incite anti-Muslim hatred #nausea."

The cartoon drew both praise and criticism online, with #CharlieHebdo quickly trending on Twitter in the country.

Socialist MP and former minister Stephane Le Foll called it "extremely dangerous," according to Newsweek.

"When you're a journalist you need to exercise restraint because making these associations can be used by other people," he explained.

Meanwhile, the magazine's editor defended the illustration, saying, "The debates and questions about the role of religion, and in particular the role of Islam, in these attacks have completely disappeared."

Charlie Hebdo has stirred controversy over its anti-Islam cartoons, some of which have mocked Prophet Mohammed, on several occasions. 

In 2015, the Paris-based publication was attacked by armed gunmen who claimed allegiance to Al-Qaeda, killing 12 of its staff members.