Charlie Hebdo Gets Bombed: Usual Suspects Lampooned
SOMEONE has tossed a Molotov cocktail into the offices of Paris-based left-wing satire magazine Charlie Hebdo. That’s the organ edited by the Prophet Muhammed.
Back in 2006, the magazine published the Jyllands-Posten’s (The Jutland Post) 12 cartoons on the “face of Mohammed”. It added a caricature of its own that took up its entire front page. The Union of Islamic Organizations of France sued. In 2007, a Paris court ruled that the cartoons did not defame Muslims and the magazine has shown no intention of insulting the Muslim community with the caricatures. Once again Mohammed is on the cover.
The magazine issued a statement:
“To fittingly celebrate the victory of the Islamist Ennahda party in Tunisia… Charlie Hebdo has asked Muhammad to be the special editor-in-chief of its next issue. The prophet of Islam didn’t have to be asked twice and we thank him for it.”
It features an image of the Prophet on it cover and the legend: “100 lashes if you are not dying of laughter.”
Editor-in-chief and cartoonist Charb tells AFP:
“We don’t feel like causing further provocation. We simply feel like doing our job as usual. The only difference this week is that Muhammad is on the cover and it’s pretty rare to put him on the cover.”
It works. The 2006 Mohammed edition was a great commercial success. The magazine sold over double its usuel 100,000 print run.
Controversy sells. It also offends. If it sets out to lampoon, then all power to it. It it set out to offend, it is racist. It’s all about context…
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Policemen stand guard near the headquarters of satirical French weekly "Charlie-Hebdo", Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 in Paris. The weekly reprinted Wednesday caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that have sparked violent protests worldwide, a day after a court ruling cleared the way for their publication. Charlie-Hebdo ran the drawings originally published by a Danish newspaper, as well as a new caricature of its own that took up its entire front page. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
Posted: 2nd, November 2011 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
