Islam versus Europe

[Note: I'll update this post throughout the day as new reports emerge.]

Is "Islam compatible with humour", as Mohammed proclaimed in this week's Charlie Hebdo? Well, now we know the answer.

The offices of French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo, which published a special Arab Spring issue Wednesday with the prophet Mohammed as guest "editor”, were destroyed by a petrol bomb attack overnight, police said.
By News Wires (text)

AFP - The offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which published a special Arab Spring edition Wednesday with the prophet Mohammed as guest "editor", were gutted in a petrol bomb attack overnight, police said.

The fire at the magazine started around 01.00 am (0200 GMT) and caused no injuries, a police source said.

Charlie Hebdo published a special edition Wednesday to mark the Arab Spring, renaming the magazine Charia (Sharia) Hebdo for the occasion.

The cover showed a cartoon of the prophet stating: "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter!"

The depiction of the prophet is strictly prohibited in Islam.

A witness at the scene, Patrick Pelloux, told AFP a molotov cocktail was hurled through the window and set fire to the computer system.

"Everything was destroyed," he said.

The magazine's publisher, known only as Charb, said he was convinced the fire was linked to the special edition.

"On Twitter, on Facebook, we received several letters of protest, threats, insults," which had been forwarded to the police, he said.

On Wednesday, the weekly said it would publish a special edition to "celebrate" the Ennahda Islamist party's election victory in Tunisia and the transitional Libyan executive's statement that Islamic Sharia law would be the country's main source of law.

It would feature the prophet Mohammed as guest "editor", the magazine said.

Charb on Tuesday rejected accusations that he was trying to provoke.

"We feel we're just doing our job as usual. The only difference is that this week, Mohammed is on the cover and that's quite rare," he told AFP.

A Paris court in 2007 threw out a suit brought by two Muslim organisations against Charlie Hebdo for reprinting cartoons of prophet Mohammed that had appeared in a Danish newspaper, sparking angry protests by Muslims worldwide.

Source: France24

Elsewhere the editor was quoted as saying:

"We have received threats (...) but no one has seen this magazine. People have reacted violently to a magazine whose contents they are completely unaware of. That's the most absurd and moronic thing about this."

The Charlie Hebdo website was also hacked by a Muslim during the night. In place of its usual contents, the following image appeared:

Source: Le Figaro

The hacker left messages in English and Turkish.

This follows on from the series of Muslim website hackings in France yesterday, mostly of Catholic sites. The French press has scarcely reported on this at all.

Some images of firefighters battling the fire:

The Socialist-run Paris City Hall said it would help Charlie Hebdo find a new office. "We'd never leave an organ of the free press without offices. It's the duty of the republic. Charlie Hebdo should be able to continue to work," tweeted Christophe Girard, a deputy mayor of Paris.

Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM) said he "strongly condemned" the fire if police did confirm it was a criminal attack.

In 2006, the CFCM brought a lawsuit against Charlie Hebdo for publishing caricatures of the prophet which he said were "a lot more violent". He told AFP the front page of this week's edition "wasn't of the same order" but added that the simple fact of caricaturing the prophet was considered offensive to Muslims.

Jean-Francois Copé, secretary general of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling rightwing UMP party, condemned the apparent arson attack, telling Europe 1 radio it was "an attack against a newspaper in a country which should stand for freedom of expression".

Source: The Guardian

How long before The Guardian produces a comment piece justifying the attack, I wonder?

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, presidential candidate for the Front de Gauche (Left Front), was quoted by Le Figaro appealing for people:

"not to confuse a handful of imbeciles, morons ... with the bulk of our Muslim compatriots who practise their faith in total tranquillity."

The Muslims are now trying to blame the "far-right" for the attack.

"It could have been the far-right trying to destabilise things ... It's a bit too easy to make the jump right away from this initial front page and it being Muslims who set fire to Charlie Hebdo."

We firmly condemn this type of action ... That said, we continue to denounce any drawing of the prophet because Muslims are not ready to accept these caricatures.

Source: Fdesouche.com


The BBC has an article with some interesting information on Charlie Hebdo's history here. It curiously raises the possibility that Charlie Hebdo's action could be considered "dangerously irresponsible".

Its decision to mock the Prophet Muhammad may be called courageously principled or dangerously irresponsible.

In the BBC perhaps. But not elsewhere, among civilised people, where third-world mores have not yet come to prevail.

It's also noteworthy that the BBC illustrates the story with photographs of the Charlie Hebdo offices and editor, but no picture of the magazine or illustrations, almost as if the BBC was observing the supposed Mohammedan restriction on publishing images of the so-called prophet.

Muslims are already being portrayed in the French media as the victims of the attack. This is one of the unique properties of the Islamic mindset, one that is progressively infecting the western world: that it can so readily turn perpetrator into victim.

The inquiry will tell us that it was a bunch of no-brain morons who attacked a magazine's freedom of expression. But whatever their religious faith, if they have one, the great losers in this affair will be the Muslims themselves. Even if they are innocent. Since we know there is no such thing as collective responsibility, the only people who can be held responsible are those who have committed this unspeakable act. Unfortunately, we know in advance that with the parade of "specialists", the Muslims are going to be stigmatised once again.

Source: Le Point

Russia Today interview with Danish People's Party representative (and deputy speaker of the Danish parliament) Soren Espersen below.




The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, has this to say:

"The fear-driven European climate of Islamophobia, which lumps things together and is based on caricatures of the Islamic faith and Muslims is extremely regrettable and harmful to the values of secularism and "vivre ensemble" (living together) which the Muslims of France fully share.

Source: Le Figaro


Le Point has more details of the Charlie Hebdo website hack:

The cyber-attack which affected the Charlie Hebdo site last night, adding the slogan "Be God's curse on you! We will be your curse in Cyberworld!", was signed Cyber-Warrior TIM, a group close to Akincilar, an association of pirates based in Turkey and known for their "defacements", that is to say inserting images on websites to communicate a message. On Turk-h.org, the group lists its own record of interventions: there are many Israeli sites there, like the Israel Wander Tour travel agency or Noble Energy, a petroleum investment company.

Source: Le Point

Charlie Hebdo has reportedly sold out all over France. I've contacted a relative living there to ask her to try and get one for me. They should do another print run and open it up to international sales. That way we could all buy one to show our solidarity and get them enough money to re-equip their offices.

I just translated a bombshell article from a Tunisian-French imam about the Charlie Hebdo attack. I've posted it in a separate article here. It's a must-read!