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发帖数: 33224 | 1 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/07/af
After Charlie Hebdo attack, U.S. Catholic group says cartoonists ‘provoked
’ slaughter
In the aftermath of the deadly assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a
French satirical newspaper, much of the world has rallied in solidarity with
the publication, its irreverent cartoonists and their right to free speech.
But not everyone is so supportive. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic
League, a U.S. organization that "defends the rights of Catholics," issued a
statement titled "Muslims are right to be angry." In it, Donohue criticized
the publication's history of offending the world's religiously devout,
including non-Muslims. The murdered Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane
Charbonnier "didn’t understand the role he played in his [own] tragic death
," the statement reads.
"Had [Charbonnier] not been so narcissistic, he may still be alive," Donohue
says, in what must be one of the more offensive and insensitive comments
made on this tragic day.
"Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally
condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated," says
Donohue. "But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that
provoked this violent reaction."
Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, President Obama condemned the
attack on a satirical newspaper in Paris that left 12 dead, saying the U.S.
would provide France counter-terrorism assistance following the attack. (AP)
The statement says Charlie Hebdo has "a long and disgusting record of going
way beyond the mere lampooning" of religious figures. "They have shown nuns
masturbating and popes wearing condoms," Donohue says. "They have also shown
Muhammad in pornographic poses."
Among the covers is a too-racy-for-WorldViews depiction of the Christian
Holy Trinity locked in a three-way homosexual orgy (as part of a critique of
French religious leaders' opposition to gay marriage) and a whole array of
images mocking pedophilia by priests.
Charlie Hebdo doesn't pull its punches. But some critics say it goes too far
, specifically with Muslims. The newspaper, after all, fired a cartoonist
who published an article deemed anti-Semitic in 2008. But when it comes to
depicting Islam, writes the Financial Times' Tony Barber, the publication
has no qualms specifically "mocking, baiting and needling French Muslims."
Donohue, who in his statement presumes to speak for all Muslims, is not
concerned with that argument. Instead, he clings to a defense of religious
sensitivities bound to infuriate free-speech advocates and secularists and
pins the fault of a terror attack on its victims.
The statement ends with a quote from U.S. founding father James Madison: "
Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses
of power." In other words, we may be free to speak, but we have to
appreciate the value of that right. Donohue should follow his own advice. | x******h
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