Muhammad on new Hebdo cover
Satirical magazine courts controversy with image of prophet on front of first issue since last week’s massacre
THE NEXT edition of Charlie Hebdo will hit newsstands tomorrow - exactly a week after gunmen stormed the satirical weekly’s Paris offices and murdered 12 people at the start of three days of terror attacks.
It has been reported that newsagents in France are donating their share of the proceeds of the sale of the magazine to victims’ families.
Three million copies of issue 1178, known as the "survivors' edition", have been printed, instead of the usual 60,000. It will be available in 25 countries from tomorrow and has been translated into several languages, including English, Spanish and Arabic because of international demand.
The issue will be on sale for two weeks.
The magazine’s cover features a tearful Prophet Muhammad holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign, under the words “All is forgiven”.
The cartoon was drawn by Luz, the artist who drew the cartoon of Muhammad that prompted terrorists to firebomb the satirical weekly’s offices in 2011. He survived last week’s attack after arriving late to the offices.
The eight-page issue of the magazine went to press on Monday, according to the newspaper Libération, which has provided Charlie Hebdo staff with temporary office space following the attack. The offices have been under heavy guard since the magazine’s grief-stricken journalists returned to work on Friday.
But they vowed not to be cowed by last week’s massacre - in which nine of the magazine’s best-known contributors died - and promised this week’s issue will be irreverent and funny.
The magazine's lawyer Richard Malka told France Info radio: "We will not give in. The spirit of ‘Je Suis Charlie' means the right to blaspheme."
The magazine's latest cover was released hours before France honoured the three police officers killed in Paris. All three were posthumously awarded the Legion D'Honneur.
Meanwhile, four Jews killed in the siege at the kosher store in the capital on Friday were buried in Jerusalem after being repatriated overnight.
In France, many people have already reserved copies, newsagents have reported.
Le Figaro has reported that 300,000 copies have already been reserved overseas, compared to 4,000 that are usually sold internationally.
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Photo: Olivier Ortelpa
