Charlie Hebdo

Shocking news in Paris this morning. During the night the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were destroyed in an arson attack (see here and here). And its web site was hacked. Totally outrageous. No doubt about the politico-religious identity of the perpetrators. In this week’s issue, which came out today, Charlie Hebdo renamed itself “Sharia Hebdo” and with the Prophet Muhammad the editor-in-chief, to mark the victory of the Islamist Ennahda in last week’s Tunisian elections. On the cover (above), the Prophet is saying “100 lashes of the whip if you don’t die laughing”…

Typical Charlie Hebdo sophomoric humor and of questionable taste. That Charlie Hebdo was seeking to provoke and offend a few is manifest, though in a free society one has the right to provoke and offend. Provoking and offending has been Charlie Hebdo’s stock in trade since its inception. Pour mémoire, during the 2006 Danish cartoons brouhaha Charlie Hebdo published its famous issue with the offending cartoons inside and the Prophet Muhammad on the cover (below), with the headline “Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists” and him lamenting “It’s tough to be loved by cons” (“con”—one of my favorite words in the French language—does not translate precisely into English; a con is somewhere between a nitwit, cretin, and a fool). Many Muslims found this offensive—which is their right—and a high profile lawsuit—which naturally failed—was filed against Charlie Hebdo (see here and here; on the documentary that was made on it, see here). I personally loved the cover, which I thought was not only funny but also portrayed the Prophet and mainstream Muslims sympathetically. It wasn’t Muslimophobic in the least (if it were I wouldn’t put the cover here, as Muslimophobia is proscribed on my blog). As for the Islamic interdiction against depicting the Prophet Muhammad, this is of no concern in a secular, free society (and does not apply to non-Muslims in any case). When it comes to religion, Charlie Hebdo—which wears atheism on its sleeve—is an equal opportunity offender (see the second and third covers below), with Catholics having long been its privileged target. If one doesn’t like this, pay no attention. Don’t buy the rag (I almost never do, though not for this reason). Turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39).

Numerous Muslims are already turning the other cheek and—at least as reflected on my Facebook page today—expressing outrage at the attack on Charlie Hebdo. And mainstream Muslim organizations in France have condemned it. I likely won’t ever see the issue, as it was sold out by mid-morning at every newsstand in my area. And given the destruction of Charlie Hebdo’s offices and material, it probably won’t be reprinted.