Charlie Hebdo responds to PEN Freedom of Expression critics in latest issue
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has chimed in on the controversy surrounding its recent acceptance of the Freedom of Expression Courage Award from PEN American Center.
Six table hosts withdrew from the center’s annual gala on Tuesday at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and more than 200 writers signed an open letter of dissent, criticizing the publication for insulting Muslims.
They argued that the magazine's drawings of the Prophet Muhammad "must be seen as being intended to cause further humiliation and suffering" to French Muslims.
In response to the clamor, the cover of Charlie Hebdo’s latest issue, which hit newsstands Wednesday, features wordplay alluding to both the PEN controversy and a father-daughter political spat making headlines in France.
It shows caricatures of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, and her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the protectionist political party’s previous leader, yelling at each other.
“Die Le Pen!” the cover reads.
The family has been in the French news this week because the younger Le Pen recently kicked her father out of the party he founded, leading to made-for-tabloid bickering.
Inside the magazine, journalist Philippe Lançon wrote that the protests from literary figures were surprising and reflected a misinformed view of Charlie Hebdo.
“It’s not their abstention that shocks me; it’s the nature of their arguments,” Lançon wrote, as translated by the New York Times. “That novelists of such quality — Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner, Taiye Selasi — come to say so many misinformed stupidities in so few words, with all the vanity of good souls, is what saddens the reader in me.”
Critics argue that Charlie Hebdo routinely engages in Islamophobia, and many Muslims take issue with its depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, which are considered blasphemous.
Defenders counter that Charlie Hebdo, a provocative left-wing publication, lampoons religious leaders and politicians of all stripes and has devoted more time to attacking conservative politicians who favor anti-immigration laws — such as the National Front — than Islam.
Le Monde points out that only seven of Charlie Hebdo’s 523 covers over the past decade ridiculed Islam.
Considering this statistic, Newsweek’s Alexander Nazaryan, who covered the gala, wrote, “To continue to insist that Charlie Hebdo harbored an anti-Islamic bias is to simply claim an immunity to fact.”
Historian Amanda Foreman argued in the Wall Street Journal that simply attending the gala was a powerful statement in support of free speech — a rubicon moment for universal human rights.
“For those who believe in freedom of expression, the moment has come to make the choice between its defense or abandonment against a murderous movement that believes democratic values are subordinate to religious sensibilities,” she said.
On Tuesday, Gerard Biard, editor in chief of Charlie Hebdo, accepted the award with the magazine’s film critic Jean-Baptiste Thoret.
“Jean-Baptiste and I are very proud to be here and to receive this prestigious award,” he said to the audience. “Even if some seem to think that giving us this award is an outrage.”
Charlie Hebdo caught international attention when two French-Algerian terrorists stormed the publication's office in Paris on Jan. 7, 2015. The jihadists murdered 12 people and injured 11 others.
At the time, the staffers were in fact planning their role in an anti-racism conference.
In the tragedy’s wake, the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie became an international slogan for freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the adage that the “pen is mightier than the sword."
Charlie Hebdo issue No. 1178, which was the first issue published after the murder spree, once again depicted the prophet — this time shedding a tear and holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign.
It was the magazine's best-selling issue and set off even more protests in many Muslim-majority countries.
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