French Magazine "Charlie Hebdo" "Doubles Down Against Islam," Prints Picture of 2 Muslim Males "French Kiss'n."--Lmao--Way to Go !!!

A firebombing clearly isn’t enough to dissuade the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo from publishing controversial and offensive Islamic cartoons. In fact, the publication, working remotelyafter its headquarters was destroyed, has upped the ante.

A new cover image depicts a Muslim man (which may or may not be the prophet — we’re unsure) engaged in a homosexual kiss with a cartoonist. Here’s the picture:

This new image, which may prove even more controversial than the original, could potentially create more controversy for the magazine. The Guardian reports, “On the front page of the latest edition is a drawing of a male Charlie Hebdo cartoonist passionately kissing a bearded Muslim man, under the headline: L’Amour plus fort que la haine (love is stronger than hate).”

In the background, you will also notice some blue and grey objects. These are intended to represent the damage caused by the bombing. Clearly, the editors and cartoonists are sending a message: They aren’t giving up on their free speech rights.

Now, there’s no indication that the man drawn in the cartoon is Muhammed, although some have speculated that it is; perhaps the magazine is purposefully keeping it ambiguous. Either way, Charlie Hebdo‘s staff don’t seem ready to throw in the towel on their apparent penchant for poking fun at Islam.

In addition to losing its headquarters, the magazine’s web site was taken down by Turkish hackers. But that, too, apparently posed no real barrier, as a new blog was setup to temporarily replace Charlie Hebdo’s former web presence. Since the attack on their headquarters, employees have been working from the offices of the French daily Liberation newspaper.

The image that led to the firebombing

Following the incident, Luz, the cartoonist who put the original image together, didn’t seem prepared to blame Islamic extremists for the attacks. He wrote, “Let’s be cautious. There‘s every reason to believe it’s the work of fundamentalists, but it could just as well be the work of two drunks.” 

In reference to the new cartoon, Gawker’s Seth Abramovitch says, “This is not going to end well.” Considering recent happenings, he may be correct. But — let‘s hope he’s wrong.

(H/T: Gawker)

French Magazine Reprints Mohammed Cartoon After Their Office Was Fire-Bombed By Islamists

Well played.

PARIS (Reuters) — A French satirical weekly whose office was fire bombed after it printed a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad has reproduced the image with other caricatures in a special supplement distributed with one of the country’s leading newspapers.

The weekly Charlie Hebdo defended “the freedom to poke fun” in the four-page supplement, which was wrapped around copies of the left-wing daily Liberation on Thursday, a day after an arson attack gutted Charlie Hebdo’s Paris headquarters.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place hours before an edition of Charlie Hebdo hit news stands featuring a cover-page cartoon of Mohammad and a speech bubble with the words: “100 lashes if you don’t die of laughter.”

The weekly, known for its irreverent treatment of the political establishment and religious figures, bore the headline “Charia Hebdo,” in a reference to Muslim sharia law, and said that week’s issue had been guest-edited by Mohammad.

The incident pits Europe’s tradition of free speech and secularism against Islam’s injunction barring any depictions seen as mocking the prophet. The publication of cartoons of Mohammad in a Danish newspaper in 2005 sparked unrest in the Muslim world in which at least 50 people were killed.