So What If It Is An Insult?

The staff of Charlie Hebdo showed courage and integrity, by continuing to publish after their colleagues were murdered last week; as did many ordinary people in France and elsewhere, who came out to march in solidarity with the victims.

Otherwise, the reaction has been as depressing as it was predictable.

(Charlie Hebdo cartoon of Muhammad is below the fold.)

Theology, Market Share and Charlie Hebdo

Today, the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were attacked by masked gunmen, apparently Islamist radicals. The attackers have murdered at least twelve people. My thoughts and best wishes are with the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims. This was a shameful, cowardly crime, and I hope the perpetrators are swiftly hunted down and brought to justice.

This was not only an attack on one magazine, but an attack on us all, on our freedom of speech and opinion. I value my freedom of expression on this blog and elsewhere, and I stand in solidarity with the staff of Charlie Hebdo.

I have been wondering about the mindset which drives a person to commit this sort of crime. It appears likely the attackers consider themselves to be devout Muslims.