Charlie Hebdo proved that it’s not going to back down. The latest issue featured the Prophet Mohammed, holding a sign saying “Tout est pardonné,” or “All is forgiven.” Conservative Muslims are offended by images of the prophet, which made Charlie Hebdo a target in the first place.
The Washington Post reports that Charlie Hebdo’s attorney, Richard Malka, told a French radio station, “We will not give in otherwise all this won’t have meant anything.”
“The spirit of ‘Je suis Charlie’ means the right to blaspheme.”
And blaspheme they did, at least in fundamentalist Muslim circles.
Mahomet en une du «Charlie Hebdo» de mercredi http://t.co/2JGWBH2Qpz pic.twitter.com/1AzjFiFvmL
— Libération (@libe) January 12, 2015
It seems that even Mohammed is saying “Je Suis Charlie” or “I am Charlie.” Rénald Luzier, pen name “Luz,” created the cover art.
Luz survived the attack because he happened to be born on January 7. He was late to the morning editorial meeting as his birthday celebrations were running late.
Luz explained in an interview with the French culture magazine Les Inrockuptibles , that “everything has changed.”
“Now, after the deaths, the shoot-outs, the violence, everything has changed. All eyes are on us, we’ve become a symbol, just like our cartoons.”
Another change is the demand for Charlie Hebdo . The magazine usually publishes about 60,000 copies a week, for its next edition, its expecting to sell 3 million copies.
According to the Telegraph , a spokesman for Charlie Hebdo’s distributor ran down the numbers.
“We have requests for 300,000 copies throughout the world – and demand keeps rising by the hour. The million will go. As of Thursday, the decision will probably be taken to print extra copies… So we’ll have one million, plus two if necessary.”
That figure doesn’t seem entirely surprising, considering the massive support the magazine has rallied after the assault. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , millions came out onto the streets in support of free speech and to say “we are not afraid.” The shows of support were so great that even the White House said they erred in not sending a high-ranking official to take part.
A total of 17 people were killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack and chaos that followed, including journalists, police, and cartoonists. It was the most heinous terrorist attack on France in recent memory, and punctuated the end of a difficult year for free expression.
The newest edition of Charlie Hebdo will be available on Wednesday; it’s one magazine that’s almost sure to become a collectors item.
[Image Credit: Valentina Calà /Wikimedia Commons]
