Charlie Hebdo Commemorative Issue Hits Raw Nerve in Anxious France
A year after terrorists attacked satirical magazine’s offices and amid deep anxiety after Nov. 13 attacks, some criticize its broadside on all religions
By Sam Schechner and William Horobin
Jan. 4, 2016 2:24 p.m. ET
PARIS—As France prepared to mark the first anniversary of the deadly terror assaults at a Jewish supermarket and the newsroom of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper aimed a broadside at one of its favorite targets: God.
The cover of the new edition—due on newsstands with a press run of 1 million copies on Wednesday, a day before the grim anniversary—depicts God with a Kalashnikov slung over his back, cloak and beard spattered with blood, under the headline “The killer is still on the run.”
The edition touches on raw nerves in France after Islamist gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people on the streets of Paris in November.
Some say that the militantly atheist newspaper—which became a cause célèbre after two brothers claiming allegiance to al Qaeda gunned down 12 people in revenge for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad—has gone too far by suggesting all religions have blood on their hands.
The new issue’s cover bears a representation of God with a Kalashnikov under the headline, “One year on, the killer is still on the run.” Photo: CHARLIE HEBDO/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
http://www.wsj.com/articles/charlie-hebdo-commemorative-issue-hits-raw-nerve-in-anxious-france-1451935447
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