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New York – French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo stirs up controversy again by publishing a “tasteless” cartoon mocking Syrian refugee child Aylan Kurdi and suggesting he would have become a sex attacker.
The cartoon signed by cartoonist Riss, shows the drowned body of Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach and depicts him as a grown up.
The cartoon asks the question, “What would little Aylan have grown up to be?” and portrays him with a pig’s face as a sex attacker running after a woman to sexually molest her.
Titled “Migrants,” the drawing answers the question saying he would be an “ass groper in Germany.”
The drawing comes a week after the one-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo murders that shook the magazine’s headquarters in Paris killing 10.
At a time when Islamophobia has risen to alarming levels in Europe and sensitive conflicts have affected the lives of many, Charlie Hebdo continues to satirize topics at the expense of harsh condemnations.
This latest use of Aylan Kurdi’s image links his refugee status and his Muslim faith with the alleged attackers who carried out the coordinated sexual assaults in Germany on New Year’s Eve.
The French publication, which claims “freedom of expression” to justify their mockery, is facing harsh criticism being accused of bigotry, racism and instigation of hatred.
Many argue “Freedom of speech” is not a free pass to cruelty, lack of consideration for others, abuse and destruction of each other’s races and religions.
Defined as a basic human right for allowing free communication of ideas and opinions, freedom of speech has become the excuse for many to carry out offenses, including Charlie Hebdo.
Charlie Hebdo has used the Syrian refugee toddler’s image of his drowning in previous issues. Following his controversial death, Aylan Kurdi became the face of Syrian refugee’s suffering around the world.
Last September, the French magazine mocked his death with two images that outraged international media and social media users.
The first cartoon featured Aylan lying face down on the sand captioned “So Close to His Goal” near an ad of a 2-for-1 McDonald’s Happy Meal that read, “two children’s menus for the price of one.”
The second cartoon was titled “The Proof that Europe is Christian.” It showed little Kurdi down in the water. To his left, a man portrayed as Jesus, standing on water while saying “Christians walk on waters… Muslims kids drown.”
The magazine faced a massive amount of backlash from social media users worldwide who called them “disrespectful” and “offensive.”
