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‘Charlie Hebdo’ Draws Outrage With Aylan Kurdi Image In Controversial Cartoon

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 08:14 PST, Jan 14, 2016

The satirical cartoon magazine, Charlie Hebdo, may have taken things a little too far this time by theorizing Aylan Kurdi would have grown up to sexually abuse German women.

A new and controversial cartoon shows a dead toddler, lying on the beach in a manner similar to the images of the 3-year-old boy that drew the attention of the world to the Syrian refugee situation. The rest of the cartoon, which bears the headline “migrants,” depicts two men, their tongues hanging out, chasing after screaming women.

The New York Daily News reported that Aylan Kurdi‘s aunt calls the cartoon “disgusting.”

As reported by the Inquisitr, it is a year since the offices of Charlie Hebdo were targeted by terrorists. On January 7, 2015, Chérif and Saïd Kouachi burst into Charlie Hebdo‘s offices in eastern Paris, killing 12 people, eight of which were part of the magazine’s staff.

Later claimed by an al-Qaida branch in the Arabian Peninsula, the attack was in revenge for satirical cartoons published by the magazine, which the terrorists claimed insulted the prophet Mohammed.

Soon after the attack, a million people took to the streets of Paris in support of the French satirical magazine, and Charlie Hebdo has become a symbol of free speech across the Western world. However, while most people agree that their satirical cartoon work is acceptable in the world of free speech, they may have gone just a little too far this time.

As mentioned in the earlier Inquisitr article, the cover of their anniversary magazine bears a cartoon of a bearded figure with a Kalashnikov hanging across his back. While the cartoon is mostly in black and white, there are splashes of blood on the man’s robes.

This cartoon blames God for the attack and bears the message, “One year later, the assassin is still on the run.”

While that cover is controversial, this week’s issue with the cartoon bearing the image of the dead Syrian toddler is considered by many to be far worse.

Warning: graphic images follow.

While the heartbreaking image of the 3-year-old Syrian child drew attention to the plight of the Syrian refugees and touched people’s hearts, many feel the cartoon image has been twisted by the cartoonists, with the wording imagining the child growing up as “a groper in Germany.”

The reference clearly relates to the recent sexual harassment of women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve by hundreds of men, many of which were apparently middle eastern migrants.

Many feel by using the image of Aylan and predicting he would have been an adult sexual abuser is a clear grab at controversy. Even the magazine’s most loyal supporters are finding it hard to see the funny side of the new and controversial cartoon.

While the cartoon appears to suggest that should young Aylan have survived, he would have carried out similar acts, it is reportedly more likely the magazine’s intention was to satirize the attitude of EU right-wingers, who tend to feel all refugees are criminals.

However, even knowing the satirical meaning of the cartoon does not make it easy to accept.

While last year everyone, was tweeting with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie (or #iAmCharlie) in support of Charlie Hebdo, many are now going a different route by sending out messages bearing the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasCharlieHebdo (or #weareNOTcharlie) to protest the offending cartoon.

As mentioned by News.com.au, last year’s attack on Charlie Hebdo has not discouraged the satirical magazine from producing yet more provocative cartoons.

Despite the fact that a month before the attack, Charlie Hebdo was thinking of shutting down due to sales of under 30,000 copies, it is interesting to note that since the attack and the support of the world following it, the magazine has become a symbol of freedom of expression, increasing its sales no end.

Reportedly, the first issue sold by the magazine’s surviving staff following the attack last year saw an amazing 7.5 million copies sold.

[Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images News]

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