My name is Charlie Hebdo

My name is Charlie Hebdo

A Story by Yasmeena El Sabeh
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Between freedom of speech and offense..

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My name is Charlie Hebdo. My job is to criticize. My job is to push the limits by creating masterpieces. My job is to draw. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and my goal was never to offend any religion. My goal was to make people think. My name is Charlie Hebdo. I drew caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, of Jesus, and other religious figures. Maybe, they were not the most respectable of all. But does that give you the right to kill me?

My name is Charlie Hebdo. I was attacked because you believed that you were doing the right thing. But, when you come to think of it, isn't killing innocent people in the name of Islam the biggest offense to the Prophet? 

My name is Charlie Hebdo and I am not afraid. No matter how many times you will shoot me, I will stay alive. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and I own the most powerful weapon in the world, which is the freedom of speech. It is so strong, and so efficient that it scared the hell out of you, so you decided to attack my pens.

My name is Charlie Hebdo, and I believe that a satirical caricature will not give the wrong image of Islam. Killing, however, will. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and by trying to bring me down, you are only lifting me up. 

My name is Charlie Hebdo and if you cannot handle being criticized then you are not ready to be politically relevant. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and if you do not like my work, then you do not have to look at it. 

My name is Charlie Hebdo. God created me. And since you "believe" in Him, you have no right to take away what He created. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and I know that "whoever kills an innocent life, it is as if he has killed all of humanity" (Qur'an - Surat Al-Ma'idah 5:32). 

My name is Charlie Hebdo. You may not agree with what I say, but that does not make it okay for you to take away from me the right to say it. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and if you approve upon my death, then you approve upon dictatorship, censorship and terrorism. 

My name is Charlie Hebdo, and I will be publishing caricatures sooner than you think - because life starts when someone tries to take it away from you. My name is Charlie Hebdo, and I will not judge a whole religion because of what a bunch of ignorant criminals are doing. 

My name is Charlie Hebdo, and I should thank you for making my name known worldwide. I mean, before the accident, a big majority did not know of my existence. My name is Charlie Hebdo and I find it completely ironic, how one of the 12 souls you sent to heaven, was named after the Prophet (Ahmad Merabet). 

My name is Charlie Hebdo, and if you think I'm Islamophobic, then you completely misunderstood the concept of caricatures. My name is Charlie Hebdo and to tell you the truth, I believe that God is great enough to defend the Prophet by Himself. 

My name is Charlie Hebdo, and if you want me to stop what I am doing... Go to bed, and keep on dreaming. 

© 2015 Yasmeena El Sabeh


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Added on January 8, 2015
Last Updated on January 8, 2015
Tags: isis, religion, islam, muslim, charlie hebdo, journalism, freedom, freedom of speech, france, paris, terrorism

Author

Yasmeena El Sabeh
Yasmeena El Sabeh

Beirut, Koreytem, Lebanon



About
Lebanese 19 years old Oxford summer school student (2011) Cambridge summer school student (2012) College Protestant Français graduate (2013) Double majoring in Journalism and Political Sci.. more..

Writing