French Magazine Publishes Offensive Cartoons Depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad | PRI's The World
The French magazine Charlie Hebdo not only mocks Muhammad, it also makes fun of the recent anti-American protests over the online video. Stephane Charbonnier, Charlie Hebdo’s editor, says that just as with the Danish caricatures of Mohammad back in 2005, it’s his right, even duty, to publish these 20 cartoons, offensive or not.
“If we start saying we can’t do these cartoons because there’s a risk someone will be shocked, then we’ll back down from publishing other cartoons,” he told the BBC, “because there always will be pressure for something less offensive, and so on and so on until we stop making them altogether.”
Charlie Hebdo has been lampooning all sorts of people for more than 20 years; name someone famous or iconic and chances are they’ve been skewered — the Pope, Jesus Christ, politicians of all stripes, and now, once again, Muhammad.
“This isn’t any more of a provocation than usual,” said Charbonnier. “It depends on who is on the other side, reading it. I don’t think that our regular readers are shocked. I think people who don’t read us, they’re shocked when they see the paper.”
Charlie Hebdo’s Muhammad caricatures run from mild political jabs to vulgar depictions of the prophet, naked.
