Do you agree that the Charlie Hebdo journalists provoked their own slaughter?

Question

A leading US Catholic seems to think this is the case due to their "disgusting record" Do you agree with him?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charlie-hebdo-journalists-provoked-their-own-slaughter-with-disgusting-record-says-american-catholic-group-9965225.html

Answer 1

I would of thought that was obvious to everyone. This was clearly not a random attack.



These particular journalists had been conducting what to me looked like a hate campaign against ALL Muslims. In some ways it reminded me of some of the vile propaganda the Nazis published about ALL Jews being fundementally evil.



Not all satire should be regarded as socially acceptable. I very much doubt that some of the published cartoons could have been legally published in the U.K., on the grounds of inciting racial hatred.



None of this, in any way legitimises the cowardly criminal acts of the gunmen. What they did cannot be defended. They should have argued there case within the law, as the vast majority of Muslims have done.



By their violence, they have given the very people that they were opposed to hero status. They achieved the precise opposite of what they wanted to achieve.



Unlike the Catholic commentor, I have no bias, other than a belief in truth and fairness. I have no problem with satirical journalism, or with challenging religious organisations fairly.



Increasingly we are seeing maverick journalist who want to make themselves "The Story", rather than doing their rightful job which is to report The Story. These egomanics taint the stories that they are supposedly interest in reporting and put all honest journalists, and everyone around them at increased risk. I think all the mavericks are a disgrace, and not people who should be hero worshipped.

Answer 2

Of course they did but that's not the point

If you do something like draw a picture and someone gets offended by it then there is no excuse for those being offended to start holding rallies, chanting deaths threats and so on

If you have to take deliberate action like buy a newspaper to read the offending material in the first place then you only have yourself to blame for being offended in the first place

And so what if someone tells you that somebody has written some offensive material about your beliefs. If it's going to be offensive to you then why would you want to actually read it?

The only time something like this needs to be stamped out is if it's something being forced upon you everyday as in government propaganda because then there is little or nothing you can do to prevent yourself from seeing it, so by all means take to the streets and protest

In situations like this the problem with taking action is it only makes the person writing the offensive material write more and that's what went on here

Both sides upped the anti;

One to defend their right to do whatever they like by demonstrating that they can print what they want and to show they aren't intimidated by the threats

Sadly the other to then finally killing them

Answer 3

No, that's utterly disgusting and wrong. It's like saying a woman is responsible for being raped because of the clothes she chooses to wear.



The journalists behind Charlie Hebdo believed that religion, and religious figures, were worthy of ridicule and this was reflected in the cartoons they drew and published. Anyone who disagreed with these was free to argue their case with words and pictures - not guns.



If a person shoots out an idea, and another person responds by shooting out a bullet, you don't blame the person with the idea. That's monstrous and insane.



I could draw a cartoon right now that could in theory make someone want to kill me. I prefer to live in a society that defends my right to draw the cartoon, than a society that believes I was asking for it.

Answer 4

Their satire was NOT the root cause of this brutal violence like so many are quick to say. The root of this violence is extremist Islam. That same, some would argue, crude and/or offensive satire had been aimed countless times at Christians and Jews for example and yet while many voiced their anger and disapproval, no violence was threatened, much less perpetrated in reaction to the 'offending' satire. Is this just coincidence? We all know that's not the case. Extremist Muslims have reacted violently and in some cases with deadly affect, for even less.

Answer 5

Logically, their satire was the root cause of the attack because if not for it, they wouldn't have been attacked. But that doesn't mean the shooters had cause. They could have risen above it, but instead they chose to slaughter people. Muslim extremists like the murderers in this case have no right whatsoever to attack anyone in a Western nation over their religious beliefs. Those that think they do should return to their countries of origin, or wherever their families came from.

Answer 6

Liar.



Here's what he said:



"Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated. But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that provoked this violent reaction. Those who work at this newspaper have a long and disgusting record of going way beyond the mere lampooning of public figures, and this is especially true of their depictions of religious figures. For example, they have shown nuns masturbating and popes wearing condoms. They have also shown Muhammad in pornographic poses."



Donohue is right. Murder is wrong, but Muslims have a right to be furious.

Answer 7

Charlie Hebdo mocked all religions, not just Islam.

And no, I disagree that they provoked their own slaughter.



Their holy book commands Muslims to live in peace and tolerance:



“Be tolerant, command what's right, pay no attention to foolish people” [7:199]



"The Servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly on Earth, and who, when the foolish address them, reply 'Peace'”" [25:63]



“Call people to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good teaching, and argue with them in the most courteous way” [16:125]



“Do not revile those they call on beside God” [6:108]



"But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves." [2:194]



What's so hard to understand about these things that so many Muslims don't?

I'm not Muslim but those Qu'ran verses are perfectly straightforward and understandable to me.

So what seems to be the problem that so many Muslims are radicalized into betraying their own faith?



Nobody made those terrorists go on a murderous rampage in the streets of Paris.

Nobody made them read those cartoons. Nobody made them overreact to them either.

Criminals claiming "the devil made me do it" is no defence under the law.

Religion-motivated criminals insanely trying to blame newspaper cartoons have no excuse either.

Muslims, same as everyone else, are solely responsible for their own personal actions.



"If you never encounter anything in your community that offends you, you are not living in a free society."

-Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada and Canada's first female Prime Minister, 1993.

Answer 8

In any arena of endeavor, there will be the good, the bad, and the mediocre.

As a society we do not spick the choice for everyone, we only pick our own choices.

Charlie is all of us, different and proud to be different.

If only a few will glance at it thats fine with them

If many will pay attention, then halleluiah, they got lucky with a cartoon of the day.

Such is freedom and we cherish that choice.



Does "just being ourselves" poking at anything and everything provoke slaughter? Hell no.

Answer 9

Freedom is not for sale, not at any price. The message to the Islamic world is wake up before it's too late - your future is not in hands, it is in the hands of people who now hate you - almost the entire population of France which has the total support and backing of the British. And for the first time since WW2 the democracies, certainly of the English speaking world, are coming closer together. Beware.



This day I declare myself to be as a citizen of France.



Islam, go eat your own s.hit

Answer 10

They knew what they were doing and knew the HUGE risk they were taking , not that this makes them been killed justified, but if you print cartoons that you know will upset people you need to think about this.

Now we might see armed guards and well protected buildings to protect these Journalists....Oh and what about Freedom when answers are reported on this question and answer forum and people have recieved death threats and so where is the freedom to say what you want?

Answer 11

Not exactly but they are in a business that only appeals to the scorners that believe they do no wrong and always do just the right thing that is acceptable. There is a time and a place for satire like the Friars roast among peers.

Answer 12

Yes! and that of others only this evening I said the same thing. This has a

Global effect on Terrorism it is about cause and effect. Provoking a situation

knowing that it will result in attacks like that is not to be concerned of others.

Answer 13

Yes they provoked people who are not in accordance with our usual rules. Sort of like bothering a mean biker might get you beat up, does not make it right but that might not matter. Now sensible folks would not have an office in this type of situation but work through the internet.

Answer 14

NO. As world leaders call for tolerance and understanding I am reminded of a quote by Dean Acheson who said , "No people in history have ever survived who thought they could protect their freedom by making themselves inoffensive to their enemies". Appeasement does not work, yet we tell our Policemen and Soldiers not to wear their uniforms when off duty, we order the Palace Guard to retreat behind the fence. Is this the image of the British Bulldog? We should treble the guard and give them live ammunition and permission to use it.

Answer 15

So someone makes fun of you or your beliefs and your response is to kill them all??



Yes their cartoons might be provocativie but it does not warrant an armed and deadly response.

What a "normal" person would do is either ignore it, laugh it off or respond in kind.



Only morons who are not intelligent enough to respond in a like fashion resort to violence.

Answer 16

Nothing justifies slaughtering cartoonists for their satirical work. These people had an agenda, it wasn't the cartoons. The hatred was already there.

Answer 17

He assumed a certain risk. Certainly he provoked it. But only for people who deal in murder. Murder is their medium. I have not seen the cartoons which may make a difference depending on whether they are clever.

Answer 18

If local media has no respect for muslim faith do not allow muslim immigrants in France or in UK.. or some what similar warning like Putin .. you can not agitate as immigrants respect of follow the local tradition

as retalitory measure do the same ridicule in their own country

Answer 19

The Roman Catholic church has nothing to shout about. Hypocrites and paedophiles.

Do I now have to worry about those American Catholic b@stards?

Answer 20

I'm not surprised the catholic pedophile priest would say that. he is as much as a violent bigot as these murderers.



Off course he believes HIS religion is above the law.



Where was this catholic priest when the kids where being raped, he was PROTECTING THESE CRIMINALS! Off course he is going to side with the murderers, he is a criminal himself.

Answer 21

Yes indeed! At the same time, I cannot condone such violent expressions of religious fanaticism, although I do understand since iconography has been a stable in Christianity since the very beginning. However, in Islam, portraits and images of Prophet Muhammad are strictly forbidden. Therefore, the journalists were guilty of violating a sacred practice only to exacerbate this by seeking to demonize Islam's sole prophet.



Again, I understand why fanatics would see 'red' at such blatant insensitivity to their cult, and this consistent pattern reinforces my rejection of Organized Religion as a whole.

Answer 22

Technically speaking they did, but we believe in the West that freedom of speech and expression are infinitely more important than not insulting a single religion. The journalists and cartoonists in question adhered to that principle and knew they were taking risks by doing so.



That said, knowing you are taking risks is not synonymous with knowing absolutely that you are eventually going to spend your last seconds staring down the barrel of a gun held by an outraged Muslim. Most human beings never fully accept the possibility of their own deaths until death is a looming and inescapable reality.

Answer 23

No. All that they did was sketch something. Nobody in their right mind should have to consider they are going to die for doing that. Nobody has to stand for this sort of behaviour anfd this question and some of the answers are awful for even thinking it.

Answer 24

So it seems that one user is calling the Catholics insane and thinks all Muslims are savages, including the two who were killed yesterday, died defending the rights of others to insult their religion (a police officer and a journo). Wow very judgemental there!!!!!

Answer 25

No. Anyone who isn't a Muslim is a target. If you make them mad you may get preference but a Muslim that is going to kill someone in the name of Islam will pretty much pick anyone.

Answer 26

No, being a jackass is never a justification for getting killed(if God allows free-will, we need to be mighty arrogant to decide against people's free-will).



Matthew 5:39 for the Catholics(to back up how wrong this is).

Answer 27

No they refused to be bullied..if would be great

if ever newspaper in the world ran the toons on

their front page for a week or so..

Answer 28

Yes. Anyone who says anything about the murdering, Pedophile, Anal Sheep Raper Muhammad should be Murdered.

Answer 29

NO But even were their cartoons provocative that does not justify murder

A god that is unable to defend his own interests, so needs humans to carry out murder on his behalf must be a puny little god

Answer 30

Free Press,except where moslims are concerned ?

Yes of course,buckle under to the 21st Century mongols.

Answer 31

Of course they provoked it, that's what they do. However nothing gives terrorists the right to execute people.

Answer 32

The situation is extremely complex, multifaceted and sensitive...but I think some freedoms should not be curtailed, whatever the religious beliefs of other groups. Freedom is a privilege in as much as it is a right -- but honestly, that applies to all people.

Answer 33

no,they were making satiric magazines,the content completely fits the genre,only self defence can justify murder in my opinion,which was obviously not the case so there is absolutely no justification for the crime those people have committed.i am not religious but i dont think all religious people are bad and those people gave muslims a bad name.

Answer 34

No, they were looking for an excuse, the Kosher shop run by a Muslim was another attack.

Freedom of speech does come with responsibilities as well but in this case not to deserve being murdered.

Answer 35

Muslims believe they need to avenge the Prophet Mohammed if he is slandered or even represented at all. This causes the dilemma: We'll make fun of Scientology, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Confucianism...but not Islam? Making fun of Jesus offends Christians and Moses offends Jews, but newspapers do it anyway. Why is Islam special?

Answer 36

isis horis seth,catholic belief,bel al-ramah moon god,islamic belief. no difference;

Answer 37

No. Because satire is a tradition in the Western world and most Muslims can handle it without trying to kill people in retaliation.

Answer 38

You are giving some redneck douche bags a lot of credit by using the word slaughter.



They barely landed a shot and had to stand next to their targets to hit anything. They were lucky they didn't shoot each other or Plaxico Burresed their junk by putting the gun in their waste line.



It was so sloppy it was like some accountants quit work and put their cheap gun show guns together and were like "I know where that dude works!".



You have some low *** standards.

Answer 39

No ,there are no excuses for murder

Answer 40

stupid religion twit you never hear this on the news atheists behead 6 Christians who disrespected Richard dawkins(pbuh)

Answer 41

Who cares what another kind of bigot thinks?

Answer 42

Radical Islamic terrorists will find just about anything they deem unjustifiable and worthy of revenge. They are a death cult. The best way to marginalize their beliefs it to continue poking fun at their beliefs rather than to avoid it. If you censor yourself than you lose and they win thus their sphere of influence grows larger. So, I say make fun of these terrorists and beliefs..

Answer 43

Charlie underestimated just how twisted the thinking of these psychopathic terrorists can be.

Answer 44

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." I don't think a political cartoon no matter how insulting could justify 'murder'.

Answer 45

No. If everyone wanted to kill others that offended them, then we could never live together as civilised, despite our differences.

Answer 46

it's a difficult one, but I think the people running the magazine did have something wrong with them. Some sort of mental health intervention could have prevented all this.

Answer 47

no, there are no justification for violence



you had freedom of speech

you also have right to offend someone

someone has similar right.



the problem is that not many people had high EQ

Answer 48

No sane person would agree, Islam is the main threat to all society and needs to be stopped. Let these savages live in their own backward countries and fight each other. They have no place in the west.

Answer 49

We shall have to accept religions as they are and we should not make jokes with any religion

Answer 50

No



I don't hold with **** shaming. Women don't provoke their own rape and Journalists don't provoke their own murder.

Answer 51

My God laffs at their attempts at humor, HE IS GOD! Only a third rate pseudo deity would be insulted by a mere human. Shaitain for instance.

Answer 52

Of course? Islam condemns anyone who insults Allah and the prophet. Why the heck are these journalists creating hate?

Answer 53

They bear some of the responsibility of course they do and anyone saying otherwise is delusional.

Answer 54

Yes it is.

Answer 55

No, they were just drawings.

Answer 56

No.

They were doing their J-O-B.