And another French informant speaks up:

I would like to explain a few things, about charlie Hebdo and about how things work in my country. It might feel insulting, but unless you are fascinated with french culture, have especially studied it or lived some time in France, you don’t know us. You don’t know our history, our politics, even our geography. That’s fine, I myself have a pretty sketchy knowledge of all these stuffs for many countries in the world.

Not knowing is fine. Spreading false informations, or giving your opinion about things you don’t know, is not.

It’s important to try to notice when you don’t know enough. Really.

You have no idea how much the french community on tumblr is feeling betrayed.

We stood by your side many times in the recent weeks, we educated ourselves about the situation in the US, we read, we learnt. Now, our country is suffering and I read everywhere that Charlie Hebdo was a racist journal, that they had it coming.

1. It was not. NO ONE, I repeat literally NO ONE in France ever considered Charlie Hebdo as racist. We might have considered the drawings tasteless, but NOT racists. For the very simple reason that WE FUCKING KNOW OUR POLITICS. So, when you see the covers of the journal out of context and without understanding french, you’re seeing maybe 10% of what there’s to see. I’m not going to explain them one by one to you, because other posts on tumblr do that very well, but just for the sake of example:

You see a black woman’s head on a monkey body. RACISM ! Except that every french person will recognize our french justice minister, Christiane Taubira, and the blue-white-red flame on the left. This is the logo of the Front National, the far-right party in France. And every french person knows that the Front National was under attack for having compared Christiane Taubira to a monkey in this:

Look carefully. The one just above is the real thing. The one above that is mocking the real thing. There’s a difference. It’s an important difference.

And, if you still haven’t got it, the title of the comic by Charb is “Rassemblement Bleu Raciste” which literally means “Blue Racist Gathering” and is a pun on the slogan of the Front National “Rassemblement Bleu Marine” (Navy Blue Gathering, in French the name of the Front National leader is Marine Le Pen, and Marine means Navy). So, this comic is actually an attack mocking the Front National and their bullshit. Is it tasteless ? Maybe. Is it racist ? No.

Then she explains how French secularism differs from the US variety.

Secularity is a system of laws intended to prevent any religious organization to interfere with the political life of the country. It means that everyone is free to practise their religion, as long as it does not interfere with other people’s life (be they of a different faith, or atheists) and the country’s. Blasphemy is legal. Drawing the Prophet is legal.

Most people in France think that it is not only legal, but a positive thing, to be able to make fun of every religion, every authority figure (and do your google research, Charlie Hebdo made fun of everyone and the pope was not spared):

Now that’s a good cartoon. It’s not pretty to look at, but it’s a sharp point. (Ratzinger is telling the sweating child-raping bish, “Make movies, like Polanski.”)

But, as much as we do love make fun and ridicule everyone, including our very secular politicians, we do have laws, and very strict ones, against hate speech. The Front National elected representative who posted the two pictures of Taubira and a monkey was prosecuted. Charlie Hebdo wasn’t, because they were not attacking Taubira, but the racist bullshit of the FN.

See? The photo with the baby orang next to the justice minister is racism. The cartoon mocking it is not.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Dan Fincke shared Salty Current’s guest post on Facebook and there are some comments on his post that should have been made here (kidding, kidding) so Ima quote a few.

I’ve been tirelessly pointing this out over and over again. I can’t imagine how it would feel to have fought rightwing xenophobia and racism all your life and then to be maligned by your “own side” in another part of the world. Not to mention a lot of imposition of America-centric cultural/political mores on a completely different political landscape. That in itself is a form of American cultural imperialism a lot of these people decry.

I think that’s why the maligning is bothering me so much – because these were our people, and they’re being misrepresented in a horrible way.

Some people’s attitude towards the correct art has become Humanist Realism. It’s not even about not being racist/sexist etc, you shouldn’t diverge from the Politburo criteria of clean art at all.

Followed by

And it makes absolutely no allowance for other political, cultural, social or religious contexts differing from their own. Funnily enough, a lot of the same people are also the ones who oppose imposition of American or “western” norms on other societies, religions and cultures.

The ironies abound.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Olivier Tonneau attempts to explain to his Anglophone friends that it doesn’t work to just read all the French things through Anglophone lenses, any more than it would the other way around. Hell, many Americans are baffled by Monty Python and that’s not even a different language (mostly).

Three days ago, a horrid assault was perpetrated against the French weekly Charlie Hebdo, who had published caricatures of Mohamed, by men who screamed that they had “avenged the prophet”. A wave of compassion followed but apparently died shortly afterward and all sorts of criticism started pouring down the web against Charlie Hebdo, who was described as islamophobic, racist and even sexist. Countless other comments stated that Muslims were being ostracized and finger-pointed.

…

As a Frenchman and a radical left militant at home and here in UK, I was puzzled and even shocked by these comments and would like, therefore, to give you a clear exposition of what my left-wing French position is on these matters.

Firstly, a few words on Charlie Hebdo, which was often “analyzed” in the British press on the sole basis, apparently, of a few selected cartoons. It might be worth knowing that the main target of Charlie Hebdo was the Front National and the Le Pen family. Next came crooks of all sorts, including bosses and politicians (incidentally, one of the victims of the bombing was an economist who ran a weekly column on the disasters caused by austerity policies in Greece).  Finally, Charlie Hebdo was an opponent of all forms of organized religions, in the old-school anarchist sense: Ni Dieu, ni maître! They ridiculed the pope, orthodox Jews and Muslims in equal measure and with the same biting tone. They took ferocious stances against the bombings of Gaza. Even if their sense of humour was apparently inacceptable to English minds, please take my word for it: it fell well within the French tradition of satire – and after all was only intended for a French audience. It is only by reading or seeing it out of context that some cartoons appear as racist or islamophobic. Charlie Hebdo also continuously denounced the pledge of minorities and campaigned relentlessly for all illegal immigrants to be given permanent right of stay. I hope this helps you understand that if you belong to the radical left, you have lost precious friends and allies.

And not, as so many are thinking and saying, racist enemies.

Of course, freedom of speech has its limits. I was astonished to read from one of you that UK, as opposed to France, had laws forbidding incitement to racial hatred. Was it Charlie’s cartoons that convinced him that France had no such laws? Be reassured: it does. Only we do not conflate religion and race. We are the country of Voltaire and Diderot: religion is fair game. Atheists can point out its ridicules, and believers have to learn to take a joke and a pun. They are welcome to drown us in return with sermons about the superficiality of our materialistic, hedonistic lifestyles. I like it that way. Of course, the day when everybody confuses “Arab” with “Muslim” and “Muslim” with “fundamentalist”, then any criticism of the latter will backfire on the former. That is why we must keep the distinctions clear.

I’ve been seeing a lot of sarcastic scare-quoted invocation of “Islam is not a race,” followed by groans about Dawkins and Harris and Maher. I get that the phrase is used to justify a lot of stupid Twitter outbursting, but all the same, there is a distinction between race and religion, and Tonneau reminds us of it handily.

The rest of the article is an interesting analysis of the possible reasons for the lure of fundamentalism; I recommend it.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Kaveh Mousavi alerted me to this explanation of the context of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon depicting Boko Haram sex slaves as welfare queens.

Jean-Baptiste Froment, toulousain

This cover is mixing two unrelated elements which made the news at about the same time:
– Boko Haram victims likely to end up sex slaves in Nigeria
– Decrease of French welfare allocations

In France, as in probably every country who has welfare allocations, some people criticize this system because some people might try to game it (e.g., “welfare queens” idea). Note that if we didn’t had it there would probably be much more people complaining because the ones who really need it would end up in extreme poverty.

Charlie Hebdo is known for being left-wing attached and very controversial, and I think they wanted to parody people who criticize “welfare queens” by taking this point-of-view to the absurd, to show that immigrant women in France are more likely to be victims of patriarchy than evil manipulative profiteers.

And of course if we only stay on the first-degree approach, it’s a terrible racist and absurd cover.

Think The Onion. Think The Colbert Report. Think South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Via HuffPostUK on Twitter –

HuffPost UK ‏@HuffPostUK
BREAKING NEWS: Officially the largest demo in French history http://huff.to/1C4dGeR #ParisMarch #JeSuisCharlie

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Via Natasha Fatah on Twitter –

Natasha Fatah ‏@NatashaFatah
The largest of rally in the history of France. #JeSuisCharlie #CharlieHebdo #ParisMarch

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Via Twitter –

Nadine ‏@sooojune 37 minutes ago
“They wanted to bring France to its knees. They brought Europe to its feet.” #JeSuisCharlie

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Reporters Without Borders has a different take on the question of unity.

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the participation of many foreign leaders in today’s march in Paris in homage to the victims of last week’s terror attacks and in defence of the French republic’s values, but is outraged by the presence of officials from countries that restrict freedom of information.

On what grounds are representatives of regimes that are predators of press freedom coming to Paris to pay tribute to Charlie Hebdo, a publication that has always defended the most radical concept of freedom of expression?

Reporters Without Borders is appalled by the presence of leaders from countries where journalists and bloggers are systematically persecuted such as Egypt (which is ranked 159th out of 180 countries in RWB’s press freedom index), Russia (148th), Turkey (154th) and United Arab Emirates (118th).

They have a good point. It’s basically the point I’ve been making about Saudi Arabia all along – Saudi Arabia that is not a Perceived Enemy like IS or AQAP but an official ally. Yes the Couachi brothers are horrible but so is Saudi Arabia – and horrible in the same way for the same shitty reasons.

“We must demonstrate our solidarity with Charlie Hebdo without forgetting all the world’s other Charlies,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.

“It would be unacceptable if representatives of countries that silence journalists were to take advantage of the current outpouring of emotion to try to improve their international image and then continue their repressive policies when they return home. We must not let predators of press freedom spit on the graves of Charlie Hebdo.”

Very true. In a way I think it’s good that Egypt and Russia are represented at the Paris march, because whether they like it or not that constitutes a statement for freedom of expression – but in another way I think it’s bad for the reason RWB gives – it also constitutes a burnishing of their reputations.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

The Beeb also has a live report on the Paris march, so we can see commentary and news as it rolls in.

17:49

Peter Miller emails: It feels as if all of Paris is in the streets. We are still 1km away from Place de la Republique but the street is full of people. It is important the whole of society unites together now in solidarity for the freedom of speech and against hatred that wants to divide us.

I think that uniting bit is what the murderers don’t want.

Remember: they aren’t particularly bright. They have some cunning, but they’re not sharp. They didn’t plan for unity.

18:20

German ministers have accused the anti-immigration movement Pegida of exploiting the Paris attacks.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas has urged Pegida to call off its next march, scheduled for Monday in the eastern city of Dresden. Last week, 18,000 people turned out for the rally.

“If the organisers had a shred of decency, they would simply cancel these demonstrations,” the Bild newspaper quoted him as saying in its issue to be published Monday.

“The victims (of the Paris attacks) do not deserve to be abused by rabble-rousers like these,” he said.

Ni Pegida ni AQAP.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

The BBC reports on the massive Paris march today.

More than 40 world leaders joined the start of the march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.

“Paris is the capital of the world today,” French leader Francois Hollande said. “The whole country will rise up.”

The marchers hope to demonstrate unity after the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers, and a kosher supermarket.

The rally, led by relatives of the victims of last week’s attacks, began at the Place de la Republique. It is thought that more than a million people are taking part.

More than a million people. That’s a huge march – I’ve never seen one that big.

World leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined the beginning of the march.

No one representing Saudi Arabia? I suppose they’re all too busy cleaning the whip for Raif Badawi’s next flogging.

Marchers in Paris chanted “liberté” (“freedom”) and “Charlie” in reference to Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Some waved French flags, cheered, and sang the national anthem. A group of demonstrators carried a large model pencil with the words “not afraid” written on the side.

Outside Paris, several other French cities also held rallies with a combined turnout of at least one million, AFP news agency reported.

Samia Ghali, mayor of one of Marseille’s districts, told the BBC that people were marching for tolerance and co-existence. Marseille is the city with the largest Muslim population in France.

Solidarity marches were also held in world cities including London, Madrid, Cairo, Sydney and Tokyo.

Is that what the murderers wanted? Global solidarity in the face of their massacres? I doubt it.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

A couple of cartoons via Lejla Kurić on Facebook –

via Facebook

Via Facebook

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Amnesty International says, not surprisingly, that the attack on Baga may be Boko Haram’s worst massacre so far.

“The attack on Baga and surrounding towns, looks as if it could be Boko Haram’s deadliest act in a catalogue of increasingly heinous attacks carried out by the group. If reports that the town was largely razed to the ground and that hundreds or even as many as two thousand civilians were killed are true, this marks a disturbing and bloody escalation of Boko Haram’s ongoing onslaught against the civilian population,” said Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for Amnesty International.

“Disturbing” seems like a silly word there. Everything Boko Haram has done has been horrifying; to say this latest slaughter is disturbing is inadequate.

Background:

Boko Haram militants reportedly attacked Baga and surrounding towns on Saturday 3 January.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has deliberately targeted civilians through raids and bomb attacks with attacks increasing in frequency and severity.

The effects on the civilian population have been devastating with thousands killed and abducted and hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes.

Evidence gathered by Amnesty International indicates that Boko Haram have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Nigerian government must investigate these violent abuses and ensure that those guilty of committing them are brought to justice.

No disagreement there.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Bill Donohue says we should all convert to Catholicism and then everything would be fine.

In an ideal world, Muslims who interpret the Koran to justify violence would convert to Catholicism, and artists who think they have an absolute right to insult people of faith would follow suit. If both did, we would have peace and civility.

Catholicism teaches that it is immoral to intentionally kill innocent persons, beginning with life in the womb. It is not a pacifistic religion—it believes in just wars—though it naturally inclines towards non-violence. It most certainly does not counsel violence as a right remedy to insolent behavior. Muslims who say it is morally justified to kill obscene artists, citing the Koran as their impetus, would do us all a favor if they converted to Catholicism.

Oh really? Catholicism naturally inclines towards non-violence? Catholicism does not counsel violence as a right remedy to insolent behavior? What was all that about the Inquisition then? What were all those burnings for? What were the crusades for? Why were church-run prisons for children in Ireland so rife with sadism?

What a bullshitter Donohue is.

Catholicism teaches that freedom is the right to do what you ought to do. As such, it is always tied to duty, and to individual responsibility. Once that understanding breaks down—as it has in the West—trouble follows.

Oh yes? What was and is all that about the rapey priests then? What was all that about shielding the priests and sending them to new parishes instead of reporting their rapes to the police? If that’s what Catholicism teaches, why is it so grotesquely bad at acting accordingly? Unless of course you simply define “what you ought to do” as obedience to stupid Catholic rules as opposed to respect for the rights of other people.

Unfortunately, many artists interpret their rights as a solo exercise, disconnected from duty or responsibility. But autonomy can never be a sturdy guide to morality: it devolves into relativism and to a wholesale disrespect for the rights of others. Narcissistic artists who associate obscenity with creativity would do us all a favor if they converted to Catholicism.

Ah so you are talking about the rights of others. But then why is church history so full of cruelty and exploitation? Why is its copybook so stained with blood and tears? Why has it been so horrible for so long?

The central problem with Muslim extremists and irresponsible artists is that neither embodies the virtue of restraint. If they did, they would not act as the barbarians and libertines that they are. Catholicism is the answer.

What a terrible human being he is.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Originally a comment by artymorty on A French style of anarchic left-wing social commentary.

There’s so much confusion and disagreement among liberals about whether CH’s cartoons are punching up (lampooning religious authority) or punching down (needlessly mocking an already marginalized group of people).

Many Muslims are marginalized in France, but Islamists and conservative Muslim leaders are not powerless. Quite the opposite: they derive a great deal of power by claiming to speak for Muslims as a whole, and they’re actively working to enrich their power by undermining secular values in the West.

They accuse those outside the religion who dare to challenge their power of intolerance, of racism, of punching down, as if criticism of any part of the dogma they’re selling is an attack on anyone who might have an investment with any other part of it.

There’s an array of people who identify as Muslim in diverse ways and to different extents; as liberals we surely agree that this is a good thing. But when liberals automatically conflate mockery of any part of Islam with “racist” attacks on Muslim people as a whole, they’re effectively letting the imams speak on behalf of everyone who happens to identify as Muslim, as if Muslimness is an unchanging, all-or-nothing, universal set of values that trumps any other part of a Muslim’s identity, be they doctor, merchant, social worker, single parent, left-handed, pescatarian, Center-Right, secularist, bicycle enthusiast, Arab, overly sarcastic, strawberry blonde, octogenarian, Type II diabetic, bisexual… whatever.

It’s that kind of thinking that contributes to the vicious cycle of marginalization.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

From World.Mic, some more cartoons about Charlie Hebdo

From the English-language newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed in Qatar:

From Makhlouf, a young cartoonist in Egypt:

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

From a comment by sff9 on A French style of anarchic left-wing social commentary:

It’s really not that complicated, CH’s staff are left-libertarians who enjoy over-the-top childish humor and practice hipster racism/sexism a lot. They fought racism by reproducing racist tropes with the intent of mocking them. All the sympathy that I had for Charb, Cabu, Tignous, and Wolinski, whose cartoons and comics I read or have read for years, does not change the fact that in a lot of ways CH’s spirit was akin to 4chan’s.

So while saying that the artists were racists is probably excessive, pointing out that a lot of CH’s cartoons are racist/sexist/islamophobic etc., or at least are problematic in this regard, and thus should not be thoughtlessly reproduced everywhere because their authors are now martyrs of the freedom of speach, does not seem so contemptible to me.

That makes sense to me, and it jibes with the sense I’ve gotten from the little I’ve seen of CH over the past few years. I don’t like the cartoons as cartoons, because I think the style is (deliberately) ugly and coarse. Saying it’s comparable to 4chan is a useful simile.

For a cartoon whose style I love, have a bit of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Via Twitter –

Frances Townsend ‏@FranTownsend 1 hour ago
“My brother was a Muslim…killed by people who pretend to be Muslims. they are terrorists, that’s it” #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/tt0eOt3uZ7

That’s Malek Merabet, whose brother was Ahmed Merabet, who was shot in the head by one of the Kouatchi brothers as he lay wounded on the sidewalk.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

The BBC reports that some 700,000 people have taken part in marches across France to support free speech and Charlie Hebdo.

During the marches, some protesters held banners that read “I am against racism”, “unity”, or “I am Charlie” – the latter a reference to Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine whose Paris offices were attacked by brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi on Wednesday.

See there? Against racism and for Charlie – that wouldn’t work if Charlie were itself racist.

There’s going to be a massive march in Paris tomorrow.

Those set to attend Sunday’s rally include UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The rally will depart from Paris’s Place de la Republique at 15:00 local time.

Ahmed Merabet’s brother is anti-racist. He doesn’t consider the Kouachi brothers to be anti-racism campaigners.

The family of Ahmed Merabet, one of the police officers killed during Wednesday’s attack, gave an emotional news conference on Saturday.

Mr Merabet was “Muslim, and very proud of being a police officer and defending the values of the Republic”, his brother Malek Merabet said.

“Our family is devastated by this act of barbarity, and shares the pain of the families of all the victims.”

Malek Merabet added that “racists, Islamophobes and anti-Semites” should not confuse extremists with Muslims.

The family said they were “proud” of the gatherings that had taken place to commemorate the victims, saying they proved that France could be united.

It’s not Charlie Hebdo that’s racist, it’s the Kouachi brothers and their allies who are racist. It’s important to get this right. Ni le FN ni les Kouachis.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

Facebook decided to ruin my mood by showing me posts by people I like ranting about the racism of Charlie Hebdo, as if it were self-evident and universally acknowledged. The idea is that Muslims are a marginalized group, therefore CH is racist.

O really? Then why did so many French Muslim groups immediately denounce the massacre?

The Grand Mosque of Paris, one of the largest in France, issued a statement on its website shortly after the attacks, saying its community was “shocked” and “horrified” by the violence.

We strongly condemn these kind of acts and we expect the authorities to take the most appropriate measures. Our community is stunned by what just happened. It’s a whole section of our democracy that is seriously affected. This is a deafening declaration of war. Times have changed, and we are now entering a new era of confrontation.

The Union of Islamic Organizations of France also responded on its website, writing: “The UOIF condemns in the strongest terms this criminal attack, and these horrible murders. The UOIF expresses its deepest condolences to the families and all the employees of Charlie Weekly.”

Hassen Chalghoumi, imam of the Drancy mosque in Paris’s Seine-Saint-Denis suburb, spoke with France’s BFM TV and condemned the attackers, saying, “Their barbarism has nothing to do with Islam.”

“I am extremely angry,” Chalghoumi said. “These are criminals, barbarians. They have sold their soul to hell. This is not freedom. This is not Islam and I hope the French will come out united at the end of this.”

Countless Muslim activists, leaders and authors took to social media Wednesday to express horror and dismay at the attack…

Then there is a long string of tweets.

A French woman commented on one of those “Charlie Hebdo is racist” posts:

Those cartoons are not, were not, inciting people to hate Muslims nor do they incite racial hatred. In fact, they represent only one subject tackled by those guys. Catholic church, politicians, and everything that made the news in France and abroad Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, etc. were given a fierce satyrical treatment under the pens of those very talented people. Some of these guys have been living with a death threat since they decided to go ahead and publish the Mahomet cartoons. For the paper and the journalists it was all about the freedom of speech and their right to exercise it. What happened today was despicable. You’re obviously not French and don’t know much about Charlie Hebdo and the cartoonists, so check your information before doing exactly what some our ‘lovely’ far right politicians will do in the next few hours, days that is incite racial hatred against Muslims in France.

And someone else on a different post:

Charlie Hebdot is more properly termed rude, vulgar, and blasphemous. It ridiculed radical Islam, the Catholic Church, religion in general, French xenophobia, the National Front Party, corrupt politicians of all stripes — it comes from a particularly French style of anarchic left-wing social commentary that goes back to the Enlightenment — the only American equivalent I can think of would be Lenny Bruce.

I think another might be Mad magazine.

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

In Nice today – via Twitter –

RT ‏@RT_com 3h3 hours ago
Tens of thousands take to streets for silent #JeSuisCharlie march in Nice http://on.rt.com/k5ivya (Pic via @Orelip)

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)