DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, condemned Wednesday's shooting attack on a French satirical magazine known for its send-ups of radical Islam.

"...The kingdom therefore strongly condemns and denounces this cowardly terrorist act that is rejected by true Islamic religion as well as the rest of the religions and beliefs," the Saudi state news agency SPA said, citing an official source.

Egypt's leading Islamic authority, Al-Azhar, also condemned the attack, which killed at least 12 people including two police officers, the worst militant attack on French soil for decades.

Al-Azhar, a thousand-year-old seat of religious learning respected by Muslims around the world, referred to the attack as a criminal act on its Facebook site.