19 February 2014

French satirical magazine enrages Islamists again; faces prosecution for ‘Koran is shit’ cover

.... No firebombs this time. Instead, the League of Judicial Defence of Muslims (LDJM), led by the former lawyer Karim Achoui, has decided to turn to the courts instead.

Taking advantage of the existence of the crime of “blasphemy” uniquely available in the Alsace-Moselle region – it no longer exists in the rest of French common law – the League has brought the case against Charlie Hebdo to the Criminal Court in Alsace-Moselle’s capital, Strasbourg. The hearing is set for 7 April.

One complication is that the Alsatian blasphemy law does not recognise Islam, covering only Catholicism, three forms of Protestantism and Judaism. This test case will decide whether the law can be widened to include Islam. [The Freethinker] Read more