2. Is Charlie Hebdo Racist ?

I’ve seen some of my American friends comparing Charlie Hebdo cartoons to the anti-semitic drawings in the 1930s, which fueled the rise of the Nazis in Germany. I have to say I don’t think you can compare the two.

A lot Americans might consider Charlie Hebdo racist; Slate.com called Charlie a “heroic and racist” publication. But most French citizens don’t think Charlie Hebdo is racist, because making fun of religion is not considered racism in France in most cases. Not only is it not considered racist; it’s considered a political duty by most liberals since the French Revolution.

The Anti-Catholic French Newspaper “La Calotte’, in 1906. The tradition of Anti-clericalism is very strong in France.

Of course, not everybody thinks this way. Muslim organizations and anti-racist activists in France have accused Charlie Hebdo of racism ever since they published the Muhammad cartoons in 2006.

It is fair to say some of Charlie’s writers and cartoonists have been obsessed with Islam since the publication of the Muhammad cartoons. Former Charlie cartoonists and writers said they were uncomfortable with the publication focusing so much on Islam.

Charb — the editor-in-chief, who was killed in his office — answered to these accusations in 2013 in Le Monde (the translation is mine) :

“We are almost ashamed to remind people that anti-racism and the passion of equality between all human beings are in the founding pact of Charlie Hebdo…We are not afraid to say that we are anti-racist activists. We are not members of an organization, but we have chosen our side, and we will never change. If by mistake — but this will never happen — a racist cartoon was to be published in the newspaper, we would quit our jobs denouncing it”.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front leader, as a fashion model for John Galliano, who claimed to “love Hitler”, when he was drunk in Paris.

Charlie Hebdo has been struggling for years against racism, against the far-right National Front and the paper has stood alongside anti-racist organizations, social justice activists and undocumented immigrants.

My personal opinion is probably not shared by the majority in France. I think it’s wrong to say Charlie Hebdo is racist. But I do think they made stupid choices. In a country where racism against Muslims and Arabs is high, and at a time when a lot of political parties are using fear and hate against Muslims to gain political power, it was definitely not a very good idea to ride that horse.

When Charlie Hebdo published these cartoons, I was upset because I thought it really wouldn’t help Muslims and Arabs in France. I was ashamed they did it, because as a journalist, and also as an Arab living in France, I know how hard it is to fight stereotypes and racism in this country. And I thought Charlie Hebdo should be, as it had always been, on the side of solidarity and cleverness. But I didn’t think that these mistakes meant they are a bunch of racists. (Needless to say it doesn’t allow anyone to violently attack them or to threaten them).

>> This thread on Quora may help you to understand this debate about racism.

>> If you want to know more about this debate, this Vox piece tries to explain it with an American perspective.