TIME Editorial Slammed Hebdo in 2011: Not a ‘Free Speech Martyr’
Wednesday morning’s terrorist attack at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris was not the first time the satirical magazine was targeted. Back in 2011, Hebdo‘s offices were firebombed after they printed an edition that featured a caricature of the Islamic prophet Muhammed saying, “100 lashes if you don’t die laughing.” And after that attack, TIME Magazine ran a blistering editorial blasting Hebdo for running the cartoons, equating the actions of the attackers with those of Hebdo.
“Okay, so can we finally stop with the idiotic, divisive, and destructive efforts by ‘majority sections’ of Western nations to bait Muslim members with petulant, futile demonstrations that ‘they’ aren’t going to tell ‘us’ what can and can’t be done in free societies?” Bruce Crumley wrote in November 2011. “Because not only are such Islamophobic antics futile and childish, but they also openly beg for the very violent responses from extremists their authors claim to proudly defy in the name of common good. What common good is served by creating more division and anger, and by tempting belligerent reaction?”
Crumley, who was TIME‘s Paris bureau chief at the time of the firebombing attack, went on to say that the cartoons were “stupid and totally unnecessary,” “offensive, shameful, and singularly humor-deficient parody.” He also went after politicians and pundits who said the attack violated freedom of speech and expression.
He continued:
“Defending freedom of expression in the face of oppression is one thing; insisting on the right to be obnoxious and offensive just because you can is infantile. Baiting extremists isn’t bravely defiant when your manner of doing so is more significant in offending millions of moderate people as well. And within a climate where violent response—however illegitimate—is a real risk, taking a goading stand on a principle virtually no one contests is worse than pointless: it’s pointlessly all about you. So, yeah, the violence inflicted upon Charlie Hebdo was outrageous, unacceptable, condemnable, and illegal. But apart from the “illegal” bit, Charlie Hebdo’s current edition is all of the above, too.”
TIME was not alone in its past criticisms of Charlie Hebdo. The White House, which touted the universal value of freedom of expression in condemning today’s attacks, rebuked the satirical magazine in 2012 following other depictions of the prophet Muhammed in a negative light.
You can read the full TIME editorial here.
[h/t Daily Caller]
[Image via Shutterstock]
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