Ten journalists at Charlie Hebdo’s offices in Paris were assassinated yesterday. Two policemen were also killed and about twenty people were wounded. The perpetrators are apparently Muslim extremists … Charlie Hebdo is a French weekly satirical magazine that has long been harassed by conservative Muslims for making Islam and Mohammed the targets of its jokes. Indeed, in November of 2011, the magazine’s offices were fire-bombed after it published a special edition, supposedly guest-edited by the prophet Muhammad and temporarily renamed “Charia Hebdo”. The cover was a cartoon of Muhammad threatening the readers with “a hundred lashes if you don’t die laughing”. The petrol bomb attack completely destroyed the Paris offices, the magazine’s website was hacked and staff were subjected to death threats. But that did not deter the magazine … Six days later, the magazine published a front page depicting a male Charlie Hebdo cartoonist passionately kissing a bearded Muslim man in front of the charred aftermath of the bombing.

The headline was: “L’Amour plus fort que la haine” — Love is stronger than hate.

 

Filed under: Practical Tips for Peace-full Living by Scaughdt