On CBC a french politician said they were attacked for “being in poor taste” like it’s acceptable to firebomb someone for poor taste.
Free Speech Attack of the Day: Irreverent French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo was firebombed around 1 AM this morning in an apparent response to the publication’s decision to move forward with a special “sharia” edition “guest edited” by the prophet Muhammad.
The newspaper’s intention was to mock Tunisia’s first democratic elections, which resulted in a victory for the moderate Islamist An-Nahda party, as well as the Lybian interim government’s announcement that sharia law would rule over the liberated nation.
The offices of Charlie Hebdo — which had renamed itself “Sharia Hebdo” for the issue — were destroyed, and most of their contents were burned after a single Molotov cocktail was thrown at the building. Two people are suspected to have taken part in the attack.
Concurrently, the company’s website was hacked to display a message in English and Turkish criticising its abuse of “Islam’s almighty Prophet.” Four years ago, Charlie Hebdo was one of the few European publications willing to reprint a Danish newspaper’s controversial Muhammad cartoons.
“We cannot, today, put together a paper,” said the paper’s editor-in-chief, Charb. “But we will do everything possible to do one next week. Whatever happens, we’ll do it. There is no question of giving in.”
Paris City Hall has already offered to help find a new office space for Charlie Hebdo. “We’d never leave an organ of the free press without offices,” said Paris deputy mayor Christophe Girard. “It’s the duty of the republic.”
[guardian / telegraph / photo: afp.]