France: Charlie Hebdo’s Aylan Cartoon Causes Uproar
Paris, 4 Rabiul Akhir 1437/14 Januari 2016 (MINA) – French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is facing fresh international criticism after a cartoon in its latest edition appeared to link Syrian Kurdish toddler Aylan Kurdi with those who committed sex attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
The cartoon contains a drawing of the toddler’s drowned body in one corner; below it is a depiction of two men chasing women.
A caption reads: “What would little Aylan have grown up to be? A bum groper in Germany.”
The controversial caricature has sparked a harsh reaction on social media, Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) quoted Anadolu Agency as reporting.
The magazine’s current publishing director, Laurent Sourisseau, nicknamed Riss, is the author of the cartoon.
On Jan. 7 last year, two brothers — Said and Cherif Kouachi — targeted the offices of Charlie Hebdo, murdering 12 people.
Among the murdered were the magazine’s editor Stephane Charbonnier, AKA ‘Charb’, a number of prominent cartoonists and journalists, a building maintenance worker and two police officers.
Images of the body of Aylan Kurdi – a Syrian child washed ashore on a Turkish beach last September – prompted an international outcry about the refugee crisis in Europe. (T/R07/R04 )
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
