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Charlie Hebdo cover unites millions against religious fascism

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By now you will almost certainly have seen the front cover of today's landmark edition of Charlie Hebdo. Indeed, it might even be your Facebook profile picture by this point. But whilst the image in question might seem a little tame given the events of last week's abhorrent attack and its chilling aftermath, which ultimately left 20 innocent people dead, it's actually an incredibly bold piece of work.

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Libération, the newspaper currently housing the remaining Charlie employees, has also stated that, rather than printing the traditional 60,000 copies of the satirical paper, they will instead be printing 3 million copies in almost every language under the sun.. What makes this so triumphant is that the goal of the attackers was to silence the paper, but instead, their actions have actually resulted in Charlie Hebdo becoming (by a country mile) the most famous comedic newspaper in the world. An editorial found inside the new edition sums up the events of the past week more eloquently than I ever could: “For the past week, Charlie, an atheist newspaper, has achieved more miracles than all the saints and prophets combined. The one we are most proud of is that you have in your hands the newspaper that we always made.”

Libération, the newspaper currently housing the remaining Charlie Hebdo employees, has stated that they will be printing 3 million copies of the latest edition

The cover of the paper displays a picture of the prophet Muhammad holding a placard with the now iconic “Je Suis Charlie” statement, which has become a global rallying cry of solidarity since the massacre. The prophet is looking noticeable upset and sheds a single tear, underneath the phrase “Tour est Pardonné” ("All is Forgiven”). It's this phrase that really elevates the image from mere satire to a piece of defiant art. There is nothing salacious about it, and whilst many muslim extremists will argue that even a positive depiction of the prophet still counts as blasphemy, the idea that anyone could take offence at such a bold and heartfelt plea is frankly laughable. And laughter is the best defence we have against zealotry and hate.

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Whilst the very notion of putting Muhammed on the cover caused more than a few nervous grumbles amongst certain factions of the press, Charlie Hebdo's journalists have said they have done so because they don't want to concede to extremists. Indeed, the paper itself is rumoured to be the most controversial yet for the team, who have purposely saved much of their most outrageous, defamatory material for the latest edition, and rightly so. Editor-in-chief Gerard Biard, simply said in defence of the decision, “If we say to religion, 'you're untouchable', we're fucked.” The edition also features cartoons from staff members who were killed in the attack, and new material from cartoonist Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau, who was shot in the shoulder during the siege! Talk about working through the pain.

If we say to religion, 'you're untouchable', we're fucked.” Gerard Biard

Biard said of the new edition “Everybody's in it, the whole of Charlie Hebdo is in it. This edition is Charlie Hebdo.” Cartoons include the terrorists from last week's attack, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, ascending to heaven and angrily demanding their 72 virgins, only to be told they are “With Charlie,” and a double-page spread thanking the millions who marched in support of the magazine on Sunday, stating it's more than usually turn out for Mass. Perhaps the most cutting cartoon, however, is a piece that simply states; “A Charlie Hebdo cartoonist. That's 25 years' work. To be a terrorist, that's 25 seconds' work. Terrorist is a job for layabouts and wankers.”

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Renald Luzier

The cover image, which is currently generating so much conversation and so many retweets, was drawn and signed by Renald Luzier (aka Luz) who narrowly escaped the attack last week because he overslept and was late for work. Explaining his work, Luzier said at a press conference yesterday that “We are cartoonists and we like drawing little characters, just as we were as children.” He also expressed a surprising amount of mercy towards the attackers, “The terrorists, they were kids, they drew just like we did, just like all children do,” he said. “At one point they lost their sense of humour. At one point they lost the soul of the child which allowed them to look at the world with a certain distance.”

The cover image was drawn and signed by Renald Luzier, who narrowly escaped the attack last week because he overslept and was late for work

But what of Charlie Hebdo's future? Biard is optimistic. He said at the press conference; “There will be a future, there's no doubt of that. We don't know quite know yet precisely what it's going to look like.” He even goes so far as to suggest there will be no interruption in the printing process. He said "There will be a paper, there won't be an interruption. That means in two weeks time, in the kiosks, there will be another Charlie Hebdo.” Showing that a sense of humour can shine through whatever the situation, he also joked “We thank all those who have subscribed, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, who on his own represents 10 subscribers.” I couldn't agree more Gerard.

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Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.

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