The French satirical magazine has once again come under fire for its provocative comics.
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo sparked outrage on social media after it published a cartoon highlighting the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria.
Artist Pierrick Juin’s drawing shows floating buildings amid piles of rubble with the caption: “No need to send tanks.”
✏️Drawing of the day, author #June pic.twitter.com/kPcEqZDocO
— Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) February 6, 2023
Social media users said the cartoon mocked the tragedy that affected millions of people in the two countries and called the drawing “disgusting”, “disgraceful”, “disgusting” and akin to “hate speech”.
A woman named Sara Assaf responded saying she was withdrawing her support for the magazine. “Je ne suis plus Charlie” (I am no longer Charlie), she wrote, referring to the slogan “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) adopted by the paper’s supporters after the attack on their office on January 7, 2015.
That day, two brothers claiming to belong to al-Qaeda opened fire on the Paris headquarters of a French satirical weekly, killing 12 people in retaliation for cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The attack sparked a global outpouring of solidarity with France, as well as a debate about what constitutes free speech.
“We were with you during your pain. What we are going through now is a disaster for humanity!” one user said, before concluding: “No, that’s not humor.”
American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman said: “Mocking the death of thousands of Muslims is the pinnacle of how France has dehumanized us in every way.”
“Tanks are no longer needed,” they say in celebration.
What a disgusting publication. It always was. Mocking the death of thousands of Muslims is the pinnacle of how France has dehumanized us in every way.
And the crazy thing is that we can’t even tell that this is a new drop for you. https://t.co/8jWYhlCzvk
— Dr. Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman504) February 7, 2023
Some users noted how Turks organized support marches after the 2015 attacks, rallying behind the “Je suis Charlie” campaign, only to be met with what many saw as contempt.
Sirene political analyst Öznur Küçüker addressed the magazine in a tweet. “Even the Turks were ‘Charlie Hebdo’ to share your sadness, and today you dare to mock the suffering of an entire nation. One really has to have the courage to do this while there are still babies under the rubble waiting to be rescued,” she said.
Even the Turks were “Charlie Hebdo” to share your pain, and today you dare to mock the suffering of an entire nation. You really need to have guts for that when there are still babies waiting for help under the ruins.
— Oznur Kucuker Sirene (@SireneOznur) February 7, 2023
One user said the cartoon showed the “true spirit” of Charlie Hebdo, while another said “the only source of income for this paper is Islamophobia”.
No respect for human life, no shame, only evil. This has always been the true spirit of Charlie Hebdo.
— Ouissal Harize | Wissal Harize (@OuissalHarize) February 7, 2023
The comic even drew a response from Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish president’s spokesman. “Modern barbarians!” he chirped. “Suffocate in your hatred and anger.”
Some supporters of Charlie Hebdo tried to defend the comic, calling it “satire” and the need for “context”.