Hastings’ solidarity with Charlie Hebdo victims

The shocking massacre of cartoonists and staff of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris and the murder of hostages in a Jewish supermarket have caused outrage around the world. In Hastings a rally was held last Saturday to show solidarity with the victims and support for the principle of free speech. Nick Terdre reports.

The meeting assembled at noon outside the Town Hall where organiser Nicci Talbot and Councillor Jeremy Birch talked briefly of the importance of free speech, a free press and democracy, followed by a minute’s silence in memory of the 17 victims. The meeting then processed to the Stade carrying banners, pens and pencils inscribed with the slogan Je suis Charlie, I am Charlie, and Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité.

“Organising the walk was an emotional response to the loss of life through mindless violence and extremism, and I wanted to do something practical for the Hastings and St Leonards community to express what they value: free speech, a free press, art and democracy,” Nicci said.

In the face of a heavy downpour the gathering took refuge in Eat@The Stade cafe for a warming coffee and further discussion, before returning to the Town Hall. Among the marchers were several journalists, including Ann Kramer, Hannah Collisson, Nicci herself and HOT’s Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and Nick Terdre, as well as various councillors and the town’s former MP Michael Foster. Some participants had come from further afield, having heard of the rally on the radio.

Local Muslims have also been prominent in condemning the attacks. “We, the Muslims of Hastings Mosque, voice our outrage and strongly condemn such brutality in the strongest possible terms,” Imam Sheikh Ismail Suleiman Yusuf said in a statement. “Nothing is more immoral, ugly and offensive to the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and insulting to Muslims than murder in his name.

“…It goes without saying that brutality and cold-blooded murder such as this is the antithesis of Islam and its tenets. The action of these criminals has no place in Islam and their claim to be ‘avenging the Prophet’ is laced with hypocrisy and proves they are the furthest from his teachings. While it is true that this magazine has a history of caricaturing the Prophet (SAW), such depictions of him do not diminish his character for people of pure faith. The Prophet’s mantra was always one of peace and compassion, even when abused.”

Ironically Charlie Hebdo‘s in-your-face iconoclasm and determination to offend any and all religions has not proved very popular with the public, to the point that the magazine’s future was reportedly under threat. This week’s issue though, with a print run, at the last count, of five million, will have topped up the empty coffers.

Saying Je suis Charlie, then, should probably be taken as support for the principle of a free press rather than an endorsement of the magazine’s content. As one contributor to a debate in the Hastings Creatives group put it, “…for a whole host of reasons the slogan Je Suis Charlie appears to me to be singularly ill-chosen…if the killings had taken place in the UK and been directed at journalists at the Daily Mail I would not be marching under the slogan I am the Daily Mail – though I would, of course, still defend the journalists’ right not to be killed.”

And as another contributor wrote, “…in the context of Europe’s pressured Muslim minorities, some of these images [in Charlie Hebdo] brought to mind the Nazi-era Der Stürmer caricatures of hook-nosed grasping Jews.” Not a comfortable thought.

Cartoonists speak

At the centre of this issue are of course the cartoonists. HOT writer and illustrator Cathy Simpson – also a member of the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation (PCO) – draws attention to some apposite words from the PCO blog:

“It is a cartoonist’s blessing and curse to be at the point of pen and pain when matters of free speech and offence come to town…

“All cartoonists who publish in print work under the system of checks and balances that is the editor. Control in our niche of journalism is just the same as written or broadcast journalism. Any cartoonists can tell that you that the experience of negotiation with an editor can be as blunt as a “No” or as joyful as “Publish and be damned”…

“Charlie Hebdo knew all this when they republished the Muhammad cartoons. And in law, in France, they were able to publish just as they did.

“When provocations like this are easily read and shared – liked and retweeted across the globe – you have a vehicle for stoking a controversy of unparalleled power.

“We are as fond of the Voltaire quote about defending the right to offend as the next cartoonists’ organisation… But it did also potentially antagonise many millions of Muslims and it certainly highlighted Charlie Hebdo as a soft target. The publishers have been horribly caught out by their own boldness, at a great and bloody cost…

“In spite of all today’s horror, we know we shall shortly be raising a merrier hell with them all, making well-timed drawings about the lives we all lead in one shared and ever more connected world.

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