Today.

Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms. This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today. I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity. ‘Respect for religion’ has become a code phrase meaning ‘fear of religion.’ Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.
Salman Rushdie. Today.

Comments

Taken For Granted said…
I could not agree with Salman Rushdie more. If I don't like the way Charles Hebdo does something, that I feel a right to satirize or critique it, but that does not mean that Charles Hebdo doesn't have the right to exist and publish. The magazine distribution doesn't make it to South Dakota, or Chicago that I know of, so I've never had the change to see one. A cartoonist I know, Robert Crumb, creator of Mr. Natural, did a cartoon in reaction to the Charles Hebdo slaughter. But then, as Rushdie points out, more people have died defending and attaching religion than for any other reason. So sad that this continues into the 21st Century.
January 18, 2015 at 8:20 PM
Martina said…
For some time now I am under the impression that the 21st century is heading back to the Middle Ages. In many respects.
Charlie Hebdo was never my cup of tea - it's a French type of satire that .. well ... might not resonate with a German. But nevertheless ... . R. Crumb is living in the Languedoc I think, for some years now and I think he also might feel personally touched not only as a cartoonist but living in a country that has been shaken to its very foundations.
It's sad times we live in.
January 18, 2015 at 8:43 PM
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