Slinging Ink.

At the appropriately named Slinging Ink a tale for our times. France Soir on the publication of those cartoons:

"It is necessary to crush once again the infamous thing, as Voltaire liked to say. This religious intolerance that accepts no mockery, no satire, no ridicule. We citizens of secular and democratic societies are summoned to condemn a dozen caricatures judged offensive to Islam. Summoned by who? By the Muslim Brotherhood, by Syria, the Islamic Jihad, the interior ministers of Arab countries, the Islamic Conferences - all paragons of tolerance, humanism and democracy.

So, we must apologise to them because the freedom of expression they refuse, day after day, to each of their citizens, faithful or militant, is exercised in a society that is not subject to their iron rule. It's the world upside down. No, we will never apologise for being free to speak, to think and to believe.

Because these self-proclaimed doctors of law have made this a point of principle, we have to be firm. They can claim whatever they like but we have the right to caricature Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, Yahve and all forms of theism. It's called freedom of expression in a secular country ...

For centuries the Catholic church was little better than this fanaticism. But the French Revolution solved that, rendering to God that which came from him and to Caesar what was due to him."

The reaction?

But last night it was reported that the paper's managing editor had been sacked and an apology issued. According to Agence France Presse, France Soir's owner, Raymond Lakah, said that he removed Jacques Lefranc "as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual".

Oh, well done M. Lakah, well done. France, the home of the Enlightenment, honoured no doubt by your actions. The correct response?

Yesterday Roger Köppel, editor-in-chief of Die Welt, said he had no regrets. He told the Guardian: "It's at the very core of our culture that the most sacred things can be subjected to criticism, laughter and satire. If we stop using our journalistic right of freedom of expression within legal boundaries then we start to have a kind of appeasement mentality. This is a remarkable issue. It's very important we did it. Without this there would be no Life of Brian."

When you have a German talking about laughter and satire you know there’s something odd with the world. M. Lakah? You’re a toad, a maggot, a poltroon worthy of flogging upon the steps of your club (assuming that Paris has sufficient gentlemen to support one, M. Lefranc at the moment being the only known example).

All that remains now to round off this tirade in favour of free speech is for myself to republish those very cartoons. Which I can’t because I cannot work out how to lift them from here. So, consider it done if only in a metaphorical sense.

Tag jyllands-posten mohammed