The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo has satirised the image of drowned Syrian migrant child Aylan Kurdi, to mock Christian Europe and its apparent obsession with consumerism in the face of the migrant crisis. But many seem to have got the wrong end of the sardonic stick, thinking that the cartoon was a critique of the young boy and his family.
Shallow thinking has caused the politically correct media and Muslim interest groups to be very offended.
The words, “So close to his goal…” are written above the first image. In the background, a McDonalds Happy Meal signboard reads: “Two children’s menus for the price of one.”
A separate cartoon from the same edition is titled: “The Proof that Europe is Christian.” It features an image of Jesus walking on the Mediterranean beside Aylan’s legs protruding from the water. Below, it says: “Christians walk on water… Muslim kids sink.”
The International Business Times accused the magazine of “mock[ing] the death of Aylan Kurdi,” as did Turkish newspaper The Daily Sabah. Morocco World News said the publication was, “hiding behind the freedom of speech.”
Quilliam Foundation founder and former government extremism adviser Maajid Nawaz said in a Facebook post: “Fellow Muslims, please, if you don’t get satire just *ask* someone before assuming an intelligent left-wing satirical magazine isn’t … satire.
“Taste is always in the eye of the beholder. But these cartoons are a damning indictment on our anti-refugee sentiment.
“The McDonald’s image is a searing critique of heartless European consumerism in the face of one of the worst human tragedies of our times.
“The image about Christians walking on water while Muslims drown is (so obviously) critiquing hypocritical European Christian “love”.
“Fellow Muslims, not everything and everyone are against us, every time. But if we keep assuming they are by reacting like this, they will surely become so.”
Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical magazine that rose to international notoriety last year when two Islamist gunmen stormed their headquarters in Paris, murdering 12 members of staff including then editor “Charb” and several famous cartoonists. The magazine had published images of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
The left-leaning publication has a proud history of producing hard hitting and consistently offensive satirical cartoons mocking everything including Jesus, the Pope, racism, sexism, and imperialism.
In July of this year the editor promised no more cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammed.
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