Je Suis Charlie: The Charlie Hebdo Newspaper Massacre

Author Patricia Crouch wrote in the first chapter of this 2015 book, “The purpose of this book is to explore the narrative and counter-narrative of Charlie Hebdo embodied in … both the majority and the minority reports on the newspaper’s history and its actions. If we consider the massacre within the full range of its contexts, we are required to interrogate the media’s often simplistic representation of the 2015 attack as an expression of the ‘culture clash between religious extremism and the West’s devotion to free expression’… To be clear, this book in no way offers a defense of the terrorist actions taken y l-Qaida extremists against the staff of Charlie Hebdo. But it does invite the reader to consider alternate views of the magazine’s satirical representations of Islam and its Prophet Muhammad and, in doing so, to move critically beyond an easy acceptance of the newspaper as a purely heroic champion of ‘free speech.’ In short, it asks the question, what do we mean if we say of ourselves, ‘Je Suis Charlie’ [‘I am Charlie’]?” (Pg. 6)She explains, “The 2015 massacre was not the first act of terrorism perpetrated by Islamic extremists against the small, financially struggling Charlie Hebdo. Its offices were fire-bombed in 2011. The weekly has been repeatedly threatened over the years for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and other subjects, and its web site was briefly shut down by a cyberattack in 2012. As one writer notes, ‘IT was an obvious target and editor Stéphane Charbonnier and his staff were under full-time police protection.’ Charbonnier, who perished in the 2015 attack, repeatedly ignored pleas from the French government to use caution… The newspaper’s refusal to bow to the pressures of Islamic fundamentalists was perhaps nowhere more evidence than in its decision to reprint the twelve now-infamous Danish cartoons from 2005 depicting the Prophet Muhammad and other Islamic subjects. The cartoons … were reprinted in Charlie Hebdo in February 2006, sparking protests in France and riots in the Middle East.” (Pg. 7-8)She states, “The reasons why particular individuals and groups might not wish to identify themselves with the newspaper so closely as to declare ‘I am Charlie’ were several. First, there were those who blamed Charlie in a manner that was somewhat akin to blaming a provocatively dressed woman for inciting her own rape… a minority in the media implied… that Charlie Hebdo had ‘baited’ Islamic extremists into taking action against the newspaper and could hardly have been surprised by the results.” (Pg. 14)She notes, “If we agree that we need to distinguish between two ‘Charlies’---that is, between the Charlie Hebdo that championed free speech and the Charlie Hebdo that exercised it---then we must agree to do the same when it comes to the Muslims who have taken action against the newspaper’s satires of Islam.” (Pg. 23)She points out, “A well-known case that is commonly invoked to parallel Charlie Hebdo is that of ‘The Satanic Verses’ author Salman Rushdie. In 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa sentencing Rushdie to death for blasphemy and appealed to all Muslims to kill him… Such extremist interpretations of Islamic law as Khomeini’s and the Pakistani Shari’a Court’s are not ones that the majority of Muslims share. Former Indonesian President Wahid, for example, turns the fundamentalists’ charges of blasphemy back upon them when he writes, ‘Those who presume to fully grasp God’s will, and dare to impose by force their own limited understanding of this upon others, are essentially equating themselves with God and are unwittingly engaged in blasphemy.’” (Pg. 28-29)She concludes, “Having lost their friends to tragedy, and then gained many more new ones from it, Charlie Hebdo pessimistically forecasts an eventual return of the derision and poverty that has faced it throughout its history. If and when that day comes, the ‘Je Suis Charlie’ choir will have many fewer voices speaking in unison, but one imagines that ‘Charlie’ will use his voice to continue to speak his mind as freely, and as irreverently, as ever.” (Pg. 47)This brief book will be of great interest to those seeking more background to this terrorist act.

Je Suis Charlie: The Charlie Hebdo Newspaper Massacre by Dr. Patricia Crouch was a quick objective read about the two forces involved in the shootings that occurred one year ago in Paris. This academic look at what became a social media hyper-hashtag and the reaction of the world to what happened was insightful and intellectually stimulating. I gave it 4 stars, only because, like a restaurant that gives you a great dish but not enough, I find myself wanted to explore the theme and premise in greater detail. Why is self-expression and freedom of speech still on trial in 2016?

Good read, but over a little too quick

Enjoyed the read. A great book of opinion and that of what free speech is and should be. There is no but in freedom of speech.