Hebdo: Religious Misrepresentation
The recent attack on the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris that resulted in the deaths of twelve innocent people was a heinous act of terrorism. It was not a demonstration of “Muslim anger” against the magazine’s content. No one had to “pay” for what was published in Charlie Hebdo, and no one “deserved” to die. Just last week, I was sitting with a few friends, and the topic of the attacks in France came up. One person eventually contributed saying, “If you don’t support “Je suis Charlie”, then you’re obviously siding with the terrorists.” His statement was met with nods and murmurs of agreement from around the table. “Je suis Charlie” is the catchy new slogan that people use to show that they are not afraid, to take a stand against violation of one of our basic human rights: freedom of speech. But when they change their profile pictures, to read “Je suis Charlie”, or use #jesuischarlie, do they really mean it? Are you really Charlie?
My answer to that question is no. I am not Charlie Hebdo. I am not Charlie because while the magazine does tackle social issues, they have made many, many cartoons putting down Muslims, perpetuating extremely harmful stereotypes about us, passing it off as criticism of terrorists and extremists. The prophet Muhammad, who is revered by Muslims as a peaceful and just leader, is a frequent character in Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons—a crazed, dirty, turban-wearing man who comes with captions like, “100 lashes if you don’t die from laughter!” Comics and “jokes” like these portray Islam as an irrational, medieval religion with little respect for human rights. I know that’s not what my religion teaches, but other people don’t know that, and unnecessary, degrading comics are not going to solve any problems.
Charlie Hebdo’s response to the attacks is a cover featuring Muhammad, pouting guiltily, holding a sign that reads “Je suis Charlie”, as if this were his mugshot. The title on the cover is “All is forgiven.” Why should we be apologizing for what happened? Why does this cover feature Prophet Muhammad if Charlie Hebdo says that their satire targets terrorists? Muslims are not responsible for this. Every time a terrorist uses Islam as an excuse for their actions, too many people believe them. There have already been several attacks on Muslims in and around France in just the past week as a result. That is fear. ♥