Slandering the prophet? Let the ink flow.

After the Charlie Hedbo attacks, we must reaffirm people's right to blasphemy

Memorial
(Image credit: Kristian Buus/In Pictures/Corbis)

The men who killed some of France's most beloved satirists yesterday left no doubt what their attack was all about: the Prophet Muhammad needed avenging. Methodically, carefully, and with relish, these men brought him the sacrifice they thought he required.

"We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad. We have killed Charlie Hebdo!" one attacker shouted, according to press reports quoting prosecutors.

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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.