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Charlie Hebdo editor: we’re done drawing Muhammad

1 minute 26 comments

From the Washington Post:

“We have drawn Muhammad to defend the principle that one can draw whatever one wants,” said Laurent Sourisseau, in an interview this week with Stern, a German magazine.

But Sourisseau, who goes by the cartoonist nickname “Riss,” said that it was not Charlie Hebdo’s intent to be “possessed” by its critique of Islam. “The mistakes you could blame Islam for can be found in other religions,” he said.

I have mixed emotions on this. It does feel like the shooting has silenced Charlie Hebdo. Renald Luzier, (AKA Luz) announced a couple of months ago he was no longer going to draw the prophet and then later announced he was leaving Charlie Hebdo. I sympathize that at a personal level that Luz and the other survivors just can’t artistically carry on as business as usual after the attack. But at the publication level, for Charlie Hebdo to draw lines around what it will and won’t draw feels very much like the terrorists won. Yes, other religions have bad traits as well, but most do not try to silence free speech with violence.

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Comments 26

  1. “…But at the publication level, for Charlie Hebdo to draw lines around what it will and won?t draw feels very much like the terrorists won…”

    It doesn’t “feel” like they won… they HAVE won. Given the horrific murders that took place there, Charlie Hebdo’s surrender is understandable, but it IS a surrender nevertheless. Western values take another hit. Sad.

  2. Artists should indeed repeat the same thing endlessly in order to preserve their integrity. Even if nobody wants to kill them — it’s just cowardice to change concepts when one possible result is being murdered. I certainly wouldn’t.

    Not that anyone has ever cared about anything I did on that level, mind you.

    But, if they did, I’d keep doing it. Let them kill me, who cares?

    Not me. I wouldn’t.

    Damn. Out of Cheet-ohs.

  3. The problem is that there are hundreds of millions of psycho killers swarming the globe with “Allah Akbar” on their lips and hatred for all non-believers… In the good old days, these hateful morons were too poor to board a plane and bother non-Muslim people, but those days are long gone – they are traveling here and teaching their brand of hatred in Mosques around the world. They aren’t just winning, they are now everybody’s neighbors, smiling pleasantly to your face while they plan hideous crimes to please their Imams… Sure, they are a minority, but they are NOT a tiny minority, not at all.

    What if the hateful and minuscule Westboro Baptist Church was a 20% of ALL Christians? What if they murdered thousands weekly? That’s pretty much Islam today…

  4. Where’d you get that 20% figure from?

  5. @davestephens/Chicken Little

    The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

  6. Yeah, let’s have a source for that number, Dave.

    But even if that insanely inflated figure were true, it still wouldn’tt obligate cartoonists to draw something they don’t want to draw. Who should they fear more: Militant Muslims or the Creative Police?

    Artistic Freedom used to be seen as a positive thing. I guess that was back when cartoonists drew what they were supposed to draw, eh?

  7. It’s 2015 and we are still obssessed with the concept of who has a better Santa Clause? Check please……..

  8. a conservative estimate from polls taken by Muslims – hey, just TALK to a Muslim, ANY Muslim, and they will give you their best estimate – whatever the number, any Muslim will tell you the number of CRAZY Muslims is HUGE, nothing at all like the Westboro crazies who aren’t even a percent of a percent of a percent…

  9. If you think there are not hundreds of millions of desperately poor Muslims who are fed a daily dose of “Hatred of the West,” then I guess you don’t pay much attention to the news…

  10. “And in the wake of the attacks on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a video of Ms. Gabriel’s comments about “Muslims dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization” at a Heritage Foundation forum last June has been revived by bloggers and passed around social media. “The radicals are estimated to be between 15 to 25 percent, according to all intelligence services around the world,” she said, in part, when asked by an American University head-scarf wearing law student about waging an ideological war with Muslims. “You’re looking at 180 million to 300 million people dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization…” Gabriel said.”

    from Christian Science Monitor

    http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2015/0113/How-many-Muslim-extremists-are-there-Just-the-facts-please

  11. You’re embarrassing yourself, Dave. Better watch out for those hijabs. They can be used as a sling shot.

    And the Muslims I know aren’t afraid of other Muslims, they’re afraid of crazy people like you.

  12. The Energizer Bunnies of foolish, unverifiable generalities and public displays of insecurity never embarrass themselves.

  13. Seriously, Dave? Are you even aware that Brigitte Gabriel is in no position to know what “all intelligence services around the world” believe?

    Did you even read the rest of that article? Here, from the very next paragraph:

    “Not according to Angel Rabasa, who is a senior political scientist at the RAND corporation. While conducting research for his latest book, “Euro Jihad,” he found that Western European intelligence agencies estimate that less than one percent of the Muslim population living within their borders are at risk for becoming radicals.”

  14. Darrin – I read the whole thing. Angel Rabasa is talking about Muslims in Europe. The 15-25% did NOT limit itself to the handful of Muslims living in Europe….

    Apples to Oranges.

    Again, read a few blogs written by MUSLIMS. In Muslim countries. Talking about their own problems. And you will quickly understand that radical Muslims are NOT a small minority.

    I believe what honest Muslims say about themselves over any false comparisons to other cultures/religions/political correctness…

  15. “The 15-25% did NOT limit itself to the handful of Muslims living in Europe?.”

    That’s right, the 20% you cited included the Muslims living in Brigitte Gabriel’s head.

  16. The guy who shot up that theater in Louisiana turns out to be a member of the Tea Party.

    Anybody got any stats on them??

  17. I have it on good authority from a random guy on the corner that 20%-25% of TP members agree with the theater shooter.

  18. Haven’t heard from Dave all day. Must be busy translating all those Muslim blogs from Arabic, verifying they all originate in Muslim countries, and conducting polls and statistical analysis to prove they represent 20%-25% of all Muslims in the world.

    That kind of thing must take up a pretty big chunk of the day.

  20. If the USA has TEN PERCENT preaching Jihad, it is highly likely that Muslim countries have a MUCH higher percentage…

    __________

    Imams preach jihad and extremism in 10 percent of the 2,000 mosques in the United States, the FBI estimates.

    That sums up the problem facing us as we ponder the meaning of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan?s slayings of 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. Given his association with a pro-al-Qaida imam in northern Virginia and his preoccupation with radical Islamic Web sites, it?s clear that the radical element of Islam influenced Hasan.On the other hand, those who condemn Muslims in general because of the actions of Hasan and others like him are engaging in prejudice that has no place in America. Indeed, such stereotyping sets back the war on terror, because we need moderate Muslims on our side.The problem is not the Quran, which is no more incendiary than some passages in the Bible. (Deuteronomy, for example, prescribes stoning to death for those who ?served other gods and worshipped them.?) The problem is the radical element that uses the Quran as an excuse to engage in terrorism and the failure of many moderate Muslims to condemn the extremists.

    Now.About a quarter of the Muslims in America ages 18 through 29 believe that suicide bombings can be justified, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Generating those attitudes are imams who preach jihad and hatred in American mosques and postings on the Internet, according to FBI counterterrorism officials interviewed for my book ?The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack.?Saying he is being conservative, an FBI counterterrorism official told me in interviews for the book that 1 in 10 imams preach jihad. Before 9/11, the number of mosques where imams preached jihad was even greater than today.?Those who actively support extremist causes, say America is evil and deserves what it gets, and celebrate the death of soldiers, know they may come to our attention,? an FBI official says. ?So they don?t do it as openly now.?Before 9/11, he says, ?There was much more of that because all of it was considered by Justice Department guidelines to be purely protected speech. We do not have incitement laws in America, but once an imam facilitates someone else taking action, he has crossed the line into material support and becomes our business.?An example was Ali al-Timimi, a spiritual leader at a mosque in Northern Virginia who preached jihad and provided contact information for those who went to Afghanistan for training in terrorist camps. Al-Timimi is serving a life prison term.The FBI has outreach programs to try to develop sources in the Muslim community and solicit tips, but FBI agents have found little receptivity. They find that Muslims often are in denial about the fact that the terrorists who threaten the U.S. are Muslims.?I had this discussion with the director of a very prominent Muslim organization here in D.C.,? a frustrated counterterrorism agent says. ?And he said, ?Why are you guys always looking at the Muslim community???The agent began laughing.?Okay, you know what I?ll do?? the agent said. ?I?ll start an Irish squad, or how about a Japanese squad? You want me to waste my time and your taxpayers’ dollars going to look at the Irish? They?re not killing Americans. Right now, I?m going to put my money and my people in a place where the threat is.?The agent tells them to take a look at the cells that the FBI has rolled up in the United States.Special: New Probiotic Fat Burner Takes GNC by Storm?I can name the home-grown cells, all of whom are Muslim, all of whom were seeking to murder Americans,? the agent says. ?It?s not the Irish, it?s not the French, it?s not the Catholics, it?s not the Protestants, it?s the Muslims.?In response, Muslim groups have told him he is rough around the edges.?I?m not rough around the edges,? he tells them. ?You?re just not used to straight talk.?Latest News UpdateGet Newsmax TV At Home »They respond by getting angry at him.Although Muslims occasionally condemn al-Qaida, ?Rarely do we have them coming to us and saying, ?There are three guys in the community that we?re very concerned about,?? one agent says. ?They want to fix it inside the community. They?re a closed group, a very, very closed group. It?s part of their culture that they want to settle the problem within their own communities. They?ve actually said that to us, which I then go crazy over.?On the one hand, ?They don?t want anyone to know they have extremists in their community,? the agent says. ?Well, beautiful. Except do you read the newspapers? Everyone already knows it. That horse has left the barn. So there?s a lot of talk about engagement, but realistically, we?ve got a long, long way to go.?At one meeting, a Muslim group suggested having a photo taken of its members with FBI Director Robert Mueller to show their community isn?t a bunch of terrorists and that they are partners in the war on terror.An agent replied, ?Let me make a suggestion: When you bring to my attention real extremists who are here to plan and do something, who are here supporting terrorism, and I work that based on your information, then I promise you, I will have the director stand up on the stage with you.?To the agent?s amazement, the answer was: ?That could never happen. We would lose our constituency. We could never admit to bringing someone to the FBI.??Well, we?ve just defined the problem, haven?t we?? the agent told them.To be sure, some individual Muslims have brought leads to the FBI. That led to FBI cases in Lackawanna, N.Y.; Lodi, Calif.; and Atlanta. But the FBI has found that imams and other community leaders are reluctant to do that.

    from: http://www.newsmax.com/RonaldKessler/Mosques-preach-jihad/2009/11/10/id/336125/

    AND: http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/sharia-adherence-mosque-survey

    ALSO: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/12/prisons_are_breeding_grounds_for_jihadists.html

  21. Not a lot of work these days, huh, Dave? I eagerly await your follow up research on the threat posed by Tea-Party sympathizing white supremacist gun nuts. I think when it comes to acts of terror and random shootings in these United States, they’ve still got the Muslims beat.

  22. To quote Quint from Jaws (1975). “Jesus H. Christ.”
    I hope your bunker is well-stocked, Dave. Daily living must be hell for you, waiting for some Muslim (probably a little girl wearing a hijab) hiding behind a bush ready to slit your evil American throat.

    Instead of copying and pasting quotes about a horse that has left the barn, get back to your life. Like going to the movies. Oh wait. That’s where American evildoers kill people.

  23. QUOTE: ‘When you bring to my attention real extremists who are here to plan and do something, who are here supporting terrorism, and I work that based on your information, then I promise you, I will have the (FBI) director stand up on the stage with you.?

    To the agent?s amazement, the (imam’s) answer was: ?That could never happen. We would lose our constituency. We could never admit to bringing someone to the FBI.??Well, we?ve just defined the problem, haven?t we?? the agent told them’

    I am not afraid of Tea Party members nor do I demonize them. I am not afraid of Muslims nor do I demonize them.
    But if a Tea Party member OR a Muslim thinks it is OK to preach violence or murder as a handy answer to problems, I think it is reasonable to say it is no longer a free speech issue and take ACTION.

    MUSLIMS say, in NO uncertain terms, “WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM.”

    Do you think they might know something? I am pretty sure they know more than any of us here…

  24. Muslims speak with one voice? Is it a scary, booming voice like the Wizard of Oz?

    “I think it is reasonable to say it is no a longer a free speech issue and take ACTION.”

    You personally are planning to take ACTION, Dave? What’s the plan? Should we all meet at your place for a stammtisch to draft our plans of action? Will food be served?

  25. “But if a Tea Party member OR a Muslim thinks it is OK to preach violence or murder as a handy answer to problems, I think it is reasonable to say it is no longer a free speech issue and take ACTION”

    Actually, it IS a free-speech issue, as the guys who are still hanging out by Clive Bundy’s farm would be happy to tell you. And yeah, you are demonizing all Muslims by insisting that its only the strong-willed among them are resisting the pressure to go out and randomly slaughter infidels. But whatever–nativist paranoia is obviously your thing. Tell you what–you avoid cities like mine, where I pass peaceful Muslims on the street every day, and I’ll avoid East Texas.

  26. Charlie Hebdo is not and never was “anti Muslim” or “islamophob”. In fact, they mocked more on Chritian religion and right wing politicians like Marine Le Pen.
    After the killing of their main cartoonists, Charlie Hebdo has got to find a kind of new identity with new artists but they’ve got to keep in mind that the readers are expecting satire as sharp, funny and well drawn as before the attacks.
    It’s hard to do a magazine when you’re surrounded by bodyguards and doing a reporter’s job is quite impossible when the journalist is escorted by police officers on every step. The fact that Charlie Hebdo staff members are still under protection doesn’t make it easier to find new cartoonists.

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