The events surrounding Charlie Hebdo offer opportunities to discuss the implications of free speech and to understand religious prohibitions against images.
The murder of 12 journalists at the offices of the French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hedbo, in Paris on January 7, 2015, has garnered ample media attention and international support. The attacks were provoked by a cartoon mocking the Muslim prophet, Mohammed. The perpetrators were two Algerian Muslims, Cherif and Said Kouachi.
The following is a set of videos pertaining to the Charlie Hebdo events, including coverage of the attacks and protests. The events surrounding the attacks offer an opportunity to discuss the implications of free speech, as well as to better understand religious prohibitions against and historical reactions towards images.
VIDEO: Coverage of the events from the first day, January 7, 2014.
Source: BBC News
VIDEO: “Behind Charlie Hebdo Terrorists’ Path To Extremism.”
The story and background of the Kouachi brothers, who perpetrated the attacks.
Source: NBC Nightly News, Richard Engel and Lester Holt
VIDEO: Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, led by Ayman al-Zawahri, formally claims responsibility for the attacks in a video released from the groups publication arm, Al Malahem, on January 14, 2015.
Source: NTDTV
VIDEO: Interview with Charlie Hedbo cartoonist Luz.
Lux discusses his vision behind the cover cartoon of the first issue of the paper since the attacks, an image of the Prophet Mohammed carrying a sign which reads “Je Suis Charlie.”
Source: The Telegraph
VIDEO: Interview with Zineb el Rhazoui, journalist at Charlie Hedbo. Ms. el Rhazoui speaks about producing the first issue of the paper after the attacks. She explains, “We will just continue to make the newspaper every week. Of course it will never be the same again.”
Source: The Telegraph
VIDEO: “‘Je ne suis pas Charlie’: the Parisians who didn’t march.”
Interviews with Muslims in Paris who are concerned about the attack, but who oppose the slogan and the protests because of the prejudices they feel within the country.
Source: The Guardian
VIDEO: “Is ‘Je suis Charlie’ a lasting movement?”
Covers the protests after the attacks; casts doubt over the “solidarity” of political leaders within the Middle East who marched in solidarity, but who have themselves imprisoned journalists.
Source: Charlie D’Agata, CBS News
VIDEO: “What Is Charlie Hebdo and Why Was It a Terrorist Target?”
Focuses on the history of the newspaper, and provides background on the cartoonists targeted by the attackers.
Source: Bloomberg News
VIDEO: Short documentary of Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in 2006.
In this video, the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists discuss the cartoons of Mohammed published in Denmark, and their opinions on creating political satire.
Source: New York Times
VIDEO: This video explains the historical context of the prohibitions against depicting the prophet Mohammed. Points out that it has only been within the past twenty or thirty years that images have provoked violence from radical Islamists, and that such violence has little context within the Koran or to mainsteam Muslims.
Source: CNN, Religion Editor Daniel Burke
VIDEO: “Why Are Pictures of Muhammad Forbidden In Islam?”
This video not only covers the laws on images in the Koran and the Hadith and the development of the iconography of the prophet Mohammed throughout time, but also reviews recent controversies, such as the Hanafi Siege of 1977 and threats to journalists in Sweden and Bangladesh.
Source: The Discovery Channel’s Test Tube, Trace Dominguez.
VIDEO: “Prophet Mohammed Cartoons Surrounded By Violent History.”
Tracks the recent history of violence towards journalists, publications, cartoonists, and nations which have condoned the printing of satirical images of the prophet Mohammed; focuses on the progress of militant reactions towards Charlie Hedbo, specifically, since 2011.
Source: NBC News