téphane Charbonnier (Charb, who was killed this morning) defended publication's right to draw Muhammad and do so at a politically sensitive time. According to German newspaper Der Spiegel, he said: "The accusation that we are pouring oil on the flames in the current situation really gets on my nerves. After the publication of this absurd and grotesque film about Muhammad in the US, other newspapers have responded to the protests with cover stories. We are doing the same thing, but with drawings. And a drawing has never killed anyone.
"We publish caricatures every week, but people only describe them as declarations of war when it's about the person of the Prophet or radical Islam," Charbonnier added. Following its publication, the paper's website was hacked.
In November 2011 the paper published an issue under the title 'Charia Hebdo', saying it had been guest-edited by 'Muhammad'. The paper's offices were targeted by an arson attack, which was believed to be a retaliatory action, although no group claimed responsibility. The firebomb destroyed the office but no one was injured.
In 2007 several Muslim groups took the paper to court for publishing a Danish cartoon of the prophet in 2006 which had satirised Islamic extremism. The publication won the case and the court upheld its right to freedom of expression.