Charlie Hebdo stirred controversy — and violent reactions — long before shooting attack

Charlie Hebdo stirred controversy — and violent reactions — long before shooting attack
(Image credit: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)

Wednesday's attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was not the first time the magazine confronted a violent reaction to its particular brand of unabashedly controversial satire.

In 2011, the publication's Paris offices were firebombed in response to a cover portraying the prophet Muhammad as "editor" of a "Charia Hebdo," a pun on the magazine's title that referenced Sharia law. But that was hardly the only time Charlie Hebdo took on the subjects of terrorism and Islamic extremism, as a survey of other covers shows:

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Mike Barry

Mike Barry is the senior editor of audience development and outreach at TheWeek.com. He was previously a contributing editor at The Huffington Post. Prior to that, he was best known for interrupting a college chemistry class.