In light of the recent massacre that took place in Paris at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 06 January, 2015, over an article about the controversial author, Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel, Submission, I am reblogging this post by Andrew Sullivan from The Dish, which sheds some light on the reasons why this attack on Charlie Hebdo took place. Censorship through fear should not be tolerated, nor should a democratic society that values freedom of press or expression give in to acts of aggression like these. Stand behind your values, France. We stand behind you. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families.
The massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo this morning coincided with the publication of controversial author Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel, Submission, which today’s Charlie either lampoons or praises (or both) in the cover seen to the right. Today’s attack was so clearly planned and premeditated that it likely wasn’t a response to Houellebecq’s book or Charlie‘s cover thereof, but there are plenty of parallels between Submission, which critics have derided as an anti-Muslim screed, and the offensive material that made the satirical weekly a target for Islamic fundamentalists. Ishaan Tharoor explains what the book is about:
“Submission” tells the story of France in the near future — 2022 — where a Muslim wins a presidential election against a far-right candidate and presides over the Islamization of French society. Persian Gulf monarchies pump in funds into new Islamic schools; teachers at the Sorbonne are compelled to convert to Islam; women slowly disappear from the workplace; polygamy becomes legally permissible. …
Houellebecq says his book leaves…
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Andrew B Lang 