The pen is wussier than the sword

The managing editor of France Soir, a French newspaper which reprinted the Muhammed cartoons as a freedom-of-expression protest, has been fired:

France Soir and Germany's Die Welt were among the leading papers to reprint the cartoons, which first appeared in Denmark last September.

The caricatures include drawings of Muhammad wearing a headdress shaped like a bomb, while another shows him saying that paradise was running short of virgins for suicide bombers.

France Soir originally said it had published the images in full to show "religious dogma" had no place in a secular society.

But late on Wednesday its owner, Raymond Lakah, said he had removed managing editor Jacques Lefranc "as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual".

Mr Lakah said: "We express our regrets to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication."

The president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), Dalil Boubakeur, had described France Soir's publication as an act of "real provocation towards the millions of Muslims living in France". (via LGF)

I could make a snarky comment the French surrendering again, but that would be way too obvious.

Update: according to a Harry's Place reader, the BBC blacked out the cartoons in a television report on the matter.

Posted by damian at February 2, 2006 07:46 AM | TrackBack