French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is under heavy scrutiny after publishing cartoons that seem to mock Alan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler who drowned while trying to flee the country's ongoing war.
The image shown on the first cartoon shows the dead kid with a clown, which looks similar to the one from McDonald's, drawn on a sign with a French statement that translates to: "Welcome immigrants, so close to his goal. Promotion: Two children for the price of one," and a caption that says, "So close to making it..." Al Jazeera reported.
French newspaper Charlie Hebdo mocking Aylan death. Caption: So close to his goal (a 2 for 1 McDonald Happy Meal). pic.twitter.com/m9JH4DvNqZ
— Ayanle (@iamayanle) September 12, 2015
The other cartoon shows a person walking on water, who is most likely depicted as Jesus, with the drowned kid beside him with the statement: "Proof that Christians walk on water" and "Muslim children drown."
Charlie Hebdo: “The proof that Europe is Christian: Christians walk on waters…Muslim kids sink.” pic.twitter.com/6HYgu5Puss — Arash Karami (@thekarami) September 14, 2015
The toddler passed away and was found at a beach in Turkey, which raised global awareness regarding the extent of the Syrian refugee situation and initiated action from neighboring countries.
Peter Herbert, the chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, tweeted that what the magazine initiated through its careless cartoons could be reported as "an incitement to hate crime & persecution before the International Criminal Court."
"Charlie Hebdo is a purely racist, xenophobic and ideologically bankrupt publication that represents the moral decay of France," Herbert said, according to the International Business Times.
Humour and satire to be applauded but a child's tragic death is never acceptable. Do we joke about the Holocaust or genocide ?
— D Peter Herbert OBE (@herbert_donald) September 14, 2015
Maajid Nawaz, founder of Quillam, did not exactly agree with how the public perceived Charlie Hebdo's cartoons with the Syrian toddler and did not understand the satire behind it. "Taste is always in the eye of the beholder. But these cartoons are a damning indictment on our anti-refugee sentiment. The McDonald's image is a searing critique of heartless European consumerism in the face of one of the worst human tragedies of our times," Nawaz said.
Misplaced outrage: https://t.co/pUjuxcD4dq Contribute your views here: https://t.co/yHbqebuPYV pic.twitter.com/zXqll1omhN — maajid nawaz (@MaajidNawaz) September 14, 2015
Charlie Hebdo received attention worldwide after an attack from Islamic militants on their office in January for publishing cartoons that mocked the prophet Muhammad, in which 12 people were killed, according to the Inquistr.
