French magazine Charlie Hebdo has republished cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him). The BBC reports that the front cover of the latest edition features the 12 original cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The cartoons, one of which depicts the Prophet (PBUH) wearing a bomb instead of a turban, were initially published in a Danish newspaper. The French headline reads “Tout ça pour ça” (“All of that for this”).

Charlie Hebdo’s editorial team faced death threats following the magazine’s offensive portrayals of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). It’s offices were also petrol bombed in 2015.

Stéphane Charbonnier, known as Charb, an atheist, had defended the cartoons as ‘symbolic of freedom of speech’. According to the BBC, he said, “I live under French law. I don’t live under Koranic law.” He was killed, with seven of his colleagues, two police officers, and two other people in January 2015 when a pair of gunmen stormed the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris. One of the police officers killed, Franck Brinsolaro, was Charb’s bodyguard. According to the BBC, five people died in a related attack in Paris days later.

The incident saw thousands of people taking to the streets in protest, and the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie (I am Charlie) began trending. However, there were also calls for the magazine to have more respect for the views, and beliefs, of others.

14 people who have been accused of helping the two attackers carry out their operation in January 2015, are to go on trial on Wednesday. Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi are accused of having stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, and opening fire on it’s staff. Both were killed by police at an industrial estate north of Paris.Three of the accused have allegedly fled to Syria and Iraq and will be tried in absentia.

In its editorial, the magazine claims to have been often requested to continue printing caricatures of the Prophet (PBUH) since the 2015 attack. The magazine claimed, according to the BBC, that it had no reason to republish them, until now, with the opening of the trial.

The BBC reports that the trial, which had been due to start in March but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, will last until November.

Umm Muhammed Umar