Charlie Hebdo cartoonist vows never to caricature Muhammad again
A Charlie Hebdo cartoonist who survived a terrorist attack on the satirical magazine’s offices only because he arrived late for work has vowed never to caricature the Prophet Muhammad again, after claiming he has lost interest in the subject.
Rénald Luzier, known to readers as Luz, said: “I will no longer draw the figure of Muhammad. He no longer interests me. I am tired of him, just as I am tired of Sarkozy. I’m not going to spend my life drawing them.”
In the aftermath of the attack Luz drew a cover picture of a weeping Muhammad captioned ‘All is forgiven’, to show that the title would not be silenced by fear. This has led some, including former Charlie Hebdo editor Philippe Val, to claim that the terrorists had won but Luz refutes this.
He said: “They will have won if France continues to be afraid — that’s the springboard of the National Front. The spirit of Charlie will win if we manage to stop terror coming back via the ballot box. France is depressed and fearful.”
The Paris attack on 7 January saw eight of the magazine’s staff killed in addition to four other people.