This post is a collection of responses, by artists, philosophers and political theorists after the horrific attacks in Paris last week.
'No one can have anything but the profoundest condemnation for the attacks on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. There can be no justification for the attack. It should be possible to satirise or to criticise ideas without this being something that can result in death or injury. There must, however, be a response to it that does not lead either to an increase in future terrorist attacks or in a rise in attacks on Muslims.' Lindsey German 07 January 2015 Read More.
"Now, when we are all in a state of shock after the killing spree in the Charlie Hebdo offices, it is the right moment to gather the courage to think". Slavoj Žižek
Joe Sacco: On Satire – a response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks
The acclaimed graphic artist and journalist Joe Sacco on the limits of satire – and what it means if Muslims don’t find it funny. View
Corey Oakley, an Australian Journalist, questioned what he called the 'the hypocrisy of pencils and the limits of the free speech crusade' in this article.
Luc Besson writes open letter to young Muslims after Charlie Hebdo killings
French film director calls for rejection of extremism and promises to work with Muslim community for a fairer society. Read Letter
'To many Muslims, any image of the prophet Muhammad is sacrilegious, but the ban has not always been absolute and there is a small but rich tradition of devotional Islamic art going back more than seven centuries that does depict God’s messenger.' writes Emma Graham-Harrison. Drawing the prophet: Islam’s hidden history of Muhammad images. The Observer, Saturday 10 January 2015 22.16 GMT
The Mohammed Image Archive site explains that "Medieval Muslim artists often created paintings and illuminated manuscripts depicting Mohammed in full. Other artists of the era drew Mohammed, but left his face blank so as to technically comply with a sporadically enforced Islamic ban on depicting the Prophet."
"The inspiration for this Archive came from the global controversy over the publication of Mohammed cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and the need for a comprehensive and even-handed look at the wide variety of Mohammed depictions in Islamic and Western societies from the Middle Ages until today. It will remain online as a resource for those interested in freedom of expression." Link
Giles Fraser argued in The Guardian that "The Charlie Hebdo cartoonists were smarter theologians than the jihadis" Read Article
Amongst the most ludicrous of media responses was this: "Terrorism expert Steven Emerson claimed on US news channel Fox News that non-Muslims do not go to Birmingham, which he said had become a “totally Muslim” city." "His claims drew immediate criticism and ridicule under a hashtag mocking the channel’s comments, with many taking the opportunity to unearth inaccurate reports on Fox News. " Reports Carmen Fishwick . See Responses
This image that ran on the front page of the Israeli newspaper The Announcer edited two female world leaders out of the image, originally provided by wire service GPO: German Chancellor Angela Merkeland EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. A third woman in a blue scarf who we can’t identify was also photoshopped out. Click Image to read story.