Muhammad Appears on Cover of New Charlie Hebdo Issue

The new issue of Charlie Hebdo will feature Muhammad on the cover:

CNN—If the Charlie Hebdo attackers thought they could eliminate the magazine, they’re about to be proven wrong a million times over.

Editors of the Paris-based satirical magazine released the cover of their next issue on Monday night, and it shows a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, holding up a sign with the now-famous slogan “Je Suis Charlie.”

That slogan has become a rallying cry in the wake of the horrific shootings that left 12 dead at the magazine’s offices last week.

The cover illustration also includes the words “Everything is forgiven.”

The new cover was shared by Liberation, a French newspaper that lent office space to the surviving staff members of Charlie Hebdo.

Liberation’s news story about the new cover said it was specifically meant to depict Mohammed.

Many major news organizations, including CNN, have refrained from showing any of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that purport to show the prophet. Executives at CNN have cited concerns about the safety of staff members and sensitivity about Muslim audiences.

The issue of Charlie Hebdo is scheduled to be shipped to newsstands on Tuesday and put on sale on Wednesday. Resuming publication is a triumphant moment for the magazine, and one celebrated by journalists around the world. It is also a highly provocative moment — as Monday’s cover indicates.

Many Muslims find depictions of Mohammed to be deeply offensive, and there has been speculation that Wednesday’s attackers were motivated in part by past Charlie Hedbo cartoons. (Continue Reading.)

“Speculation”? Seriously?