Article content continued

How do you respond to people who say because cartoons of Muhammad are offensive to Muslims, newspapers and other media shouldn’t print them?

From what I understand, it is offensive for practicing Muslims to depict Muhammad, since they could never be able to depict him accurately. I am not a practicing Muslim and I want to show I can exercise my freedom of expression without being censored by anyone’s beliefs. I respect any media outlet that wishes not to offend Muslims by refraining from showing images that depict him but they should be doing so out of respect and not out of fear.

Why do you think this is an important expression of freedom of speech?

Art and speech should not be censored in any way. Any individual, company or organization has the right to be offended but they do not have the right to try to censor anyone outside of their realm of control. It is my right to create and post whatever images I desire within my own capacity. It is Charlie Hebdo’s right as a satirical publication to publish whatever they wish. Muslims have every right to be offended or to speak out against the publication but for extremists to use violence and death to try to scare the world into abiding by their beliefs is something the world can not and will not stand for.

How do you respond to people who say what you’re doing, or what Charlie Hebdo does, is racist because it attacks a minority in French society (and all of Western society)?

It is not intended to be a prejudiced response against a group of people. It is to show we will not be scared into censoring anything that we wish to say. Charlie Hebdo is a satirical publication. Offending and pushing buttons is what they do. They do not have to answer to anyone or respect anyone’s beliefs. I am sure any religious or political person would be offended by some of their content no matter what they were affiliated with. You have to allow the rest of the world to say and believe what they want. You cannot censor them or retaliate with violence because you disagree with them.