Posted: September 2, 2020 6:57:43 pm
A person holds a “Je Suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) sign during a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in Paris (Reuters / Archive)
Five years after Islamist terrorists stormed their offices in Paris and massacred 12 people and injured at least 11, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Tuesday (September 1) controversial cartoons republished representing the Prophet, who had provoked that attack.
Among the dead in the Attack of January 7, 2015 by the brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, were various cartoonists, including some of the most famous in France. The massacre left a deep scar and sparked global debates on freedom of expression, blasphemy and religion.
The cartoons were reprinted a day before the scheduled opening of the trial of 14 alleged accomplices who were accused of providing logistical and material support to the two terrorists. The Kouachi brothers themselves were killed by French gendarmes in a confrontation outside Paris on January 9, 2015.
The suspects will be tried on multiple charges, including complicity in murder and terrorist conspiracy, in a court in northwest Paris over the next few months.
Why did Charlie Hebdo republish the cartoons?
Many believe that by republishing the cartoons one day before the landmark judgment, the iconoclastic French publication tried to make a strong and defiant statement in support of free speech. Some others have said that with his provocative action, Charlie Hebdo is unnecessarily reopening old wounds.
In an editorial note accompanying the new issue, Editorial Director Laurent ‘Riss’ Sourisseau, who was injured in the 2015 attack, wrote: “We will never give up. The hatred that hit us is still there and, since 2015, it has been slow to mutate, change its appearance, go unnoticed and calmly continue its ruthless crusade ”.
Among those killed in the January 7, 2015 attack by brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, were several cartoonists, including some of the most famous in France. (Proceedings)
Sourisseau, who named each of the attack’s victims in the prologue, said the only reasons for not republishing the cartoons would be “due to political or journalistic cowardice,” according to media reports. The drawings “belong to history, and history cannot be rewritten or erased,” the magazine said.
Charlie Hebdo has had a history of provocations.
The cover of the latest issue of the magazine features the 12 cartoons, which were criticized around the world and sparked violent protests in some Muslim countries.
The cartoons were first published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30, 2005 and later reprinted by Charlie Hebdo the following year. Jyllands-Posten claimed that the cartoons were intended to serve as a commentary on the culture of fear and self-censorship within the Danish media.
The cartoons were condemned by Muslim groups, who said they were blasphemous. They were also heavily criticized for promoting stereotypes about Muslims and for unfairly labeling them terrorists.
In the months following the publication of the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo, violent protests broke out in Asia and the Middle East. Religious leaders in Muslim countries called for a boycott of Danish products. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief eventually issued a lengthy apology for publishing the cartoons, which he said had caused “serious misunderstandings.”
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In France, an attempt to sue Charlie Hebdo for hate speech was defeated in court. In 2011 and 2012, the magazine republished illustrations that were offensive to Muslims and sparked criticism and backlash, including a firebombing attack on their office.
What happened at Charlie Hebdo’s office in 2015?
The Kouachi brothers, children of French-born Algerian immigrants, stormed Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, grenades and pistols. Among the 12 people who were killed was then-editor Stéphane Charbonnier, the satirical cartoonist and journalist known as ‘Charb’.
In this 2012 file photo, Charb, the editorial director of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, shows the front page of the newspaper as he poses for photographers in Paris. (AP)
Media reports at the time said that many witnesses heard gunmen shouting “We have avenged the Prophet” and “God is great” in Arabic, while calling journalists and cartoonists by name. Yemen-based al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known as Ansar al-Sharia, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The police arrived at the scene just as the terrorists were leaving the building. Videos recorded by journalists and others showed the attackers firing at a police vehicle before leaving.
On January 9, 2015, the same day that the Kouachi brothers were killed by French agents in Dammartin-en-Goële, about 30 km northeast of central Paris, one of their friends, Amedy Coulibaly, attacked a Jewish supermarket in Paris and killed at least four Jewish men and a policewoman before being shot to death.
What has been the reaction to the magazine’s decision to republish the cartoons?
Through its official Twitter account, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned “in the strongest terms the decision of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo to republish (the) deeply offensive cartoon of the Holy Prophet.” Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said: “Such a deliberate act to offend the feelings of billions of Muslims cannot be justified as an exercise in freedom of the press or freedom of expression. Such actions undermine global aspirations for peaceful coexistence, as well as social and interreligious harmony. “
In this Jan. 14, 2015, file photo, there are flowers outside Charlie Hebdo’s Paris headquarters (AP Photo / Jacques Brinon, File)
Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) urged people to ignore the cartoons. “The freedom to caricature is guaranteed for everyone, the freedom to love or not to love (the cartoons) as well. Nothing can justify violence, ”Moussaoui said. AFP.
What will happen at the trial?
Fourteen people, 13 men and one woman, who have been charged with providing weapons and logistical support to the gunmen at the time of the attacks will be tried on Wednesday. Originally, the trial was supposed to start in March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now it is expected to last until November.
According to French broadcaster RFI, all survivors of the attack are likely to testify in the Paris courtroom over the next few months. There are believed to be around 200 plaintiffs at the trial, the BBC reported.
French Interior Minister Gérard Darmanin called the trial “historic” and said that “the fight against Islamist terrorism is one of the government’s top priorities.”
French President Emmanuel Macron was quoted as saying Tuesday that it was not his place to pass judgment on Charlie Hebdo’s decision to republish the cartoons.
During a visit to Lebanon, Macron said it was important for French citizens to be respectful of each other and avoid “hate dialogue,” but that he would not criticize the magazine’s decision to republish the cartoon, DW reported, citing the French announcer BFM TV.
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