I am no longer Charlie.

 

I  believe the French government  should have censored the new issue of Charlie Hebdo. 

 Instead, with predictable French arrogance the new, post-massacre issue of Charlie Hebdo was defiantly putting two fingers up to the Muslim communities of the world by insisting on yet another cartoon of Mohammed thereby provoking  hundreds of thousands of Muslims to take to the streets to demonstrate their frustration and anger at what they feel is blasphemy of the highest order. To allow the new cartoons  to appear was  highly irresponsible and it was  an incitement to violence: several people have died in the demonstrations that ensued and the Christian communities of a country like the Niger,where they have previously been left in peace have now been attacked and their churches set on fire.

And yes, actually, I am in favour of freedom of expression, democracy and all the other normal values! (which the French seem to think they monopolize by their insistance on the ‘Republican Values’ of Liberté,Fraternité, Egalité  as if the monarchies of Scandinavia, Holland , Belgium  and the UK  were not equally democratic !)

Yes, I believe in freedom of expression. Nevertheless, does  the ‘freedom of expression’ of a handful of privileged western cartoonists to draw whatever they like justify causing the worldwide sincere anguish of  Muslims?  We may not understand them, we may think they are  exaggerating and have no sense of humour but the fact remains  that even moderate muslims are offended.  Does it not exacerbate and inflame  an already very volatile  and difficult world- wide situation? Will it not turn even moderate Muslims into extremists? And does it justify the jeopardizing of the safety of thousands of Christians who live in Muslim communities and who are becoming the innocent targets of their misguided  zeal?

 Charlie Hebdo argues that they  stand  not only for freedom of speech but also for freedom of religion and that they would defend the right of a Muslim - or anyone else to believe in whatever they liked. This is too sophisticated an argument and to irrelevant to the large majority of Muslims; many of whom are illiterate and  most of whom don't even know what is written or drawn in the magazine: they have only been told  second or third hand by their Imam that it contains an insult to their faith and that it is their duty as a good Muslim to defend their religion.

There is already censorship in place in all democratic countries which promote ‘Freedom of Expression’, including in France. For instance it is against the law to be a ‘holocaust denier’ and to promote Nazism. It  seems to be  particularly the Jewish sensibilities that enjoy the protection of the establishment and of the liberal masses. Although an orthodox Jew appears in a trio in a cartoon with a Christian and a Muslim in the latest issue I do not believe that Charlie Hebdo has attacked and lampooned Judaism in the same way that is has lampooned Islam and Christianity- especially Catholicism. Judaism is something of a Holy Cow. Now; the Christians are pretty robust, they are used to it. But the Muslims are clearly not able to see the funny side of a cartoon of Mohammed. So therfore; for goodness’s sake, or indeed  for God’s sake let’s stop drawing cartoons of Mohammed!