My respect for French journalism has decreased again after yesterday's praise (below). Via Michelle Malkin, it appears that the France Soir editor who republished the Jyllands Posten cartoons has been fired.
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".
This is irritating because France Soir had done what I consider to be a sound piece of journalism in that not only did it print the cartoons it also commissioned an editorial from a leading Muslim to explain why the cartoons were offensive. Mind you the quote above from Dalil Boubakeur is accurate, publishing is a provocation, it is a provocation to think and to realize what a secular society means. This and much more (including a picture of the France Soir front page) is explained in one of the latest articles at the Brussels Journal.
Anyway those of my visitors who haven't yet seen them ought to see the Mohammed Image Archive which depicts images of the prophet going back centuries as well as modern versions from decadent western nations like Iran. There is also the Islam comic book which illustrates a number of Koranic passages. What is also key is to realize that in addition to the 12 genuine cartoons a number of primarily arab sites have published three additional caartoons. These three additional ones (here, here & here) are far more crudely drawn (a hint as to their fraudulence), more offensive and not at all humourous. It seems that some Muslims decided that the originals were not enought to build outrage and so added some others (link in Danish).