2006-02-01
The French paper France Soir has re-printed the 12 drawings of the prophet Mohammed. They have also added a new caricature, where God says, "Relax Mohammed, all of us have been caricatured".The paper argues that publishing the drawings is necessary in order to illustrate the polemics that has been created by the drawings. The paper explains that the reproduction should not be seen as a "unnecessary provocation", but that the drawings represent the substance of a global controversy.
Chief editor, Serge Faubert, says:
This is the price for this freedom, which allows the same believers to practice their religion side by side with other religions in a country without an official faith.
We have had enough of being taught by these over-pious reactionaries. In the disputed drawings there are no racist under-tones and no wish to smear a community. Some are funny, some are less funny, that's all. To show this, we have chosen to print them.
Secular France has a long and healthy tradition for blasphemy, The drawing to the right was made by Marcel Gotlib. From left: Jesus, Odin, Zeus, Allah, Buddha and Jehovah (Mohammed was not invited, since he's not a god).
