Jordan’s queen Rania responds to Hebdo’s Aylan Kurdi cartoon with sketch of her own

by

Amman: Queen Rania of Jordan has sketched her own Aylan Kurdi cartoon of the drowned Syrian child in response to a “horrible” Charlie Hebdo cartoon.

“What would little Aylan have grown up to be?” the Hebdo cartoon, sketched by the satirical weekly’s editor, asked. The answer depicted cartoon as “A groper in Germany”, blasted by the critics as “racist” and “Islamophobic” and generally distasteful.

Jordan’s Queen Rania in a post on the social media platform said. “Aylan could’ve been a doctor, a teacher, a loving parent…” Rania posted on Twitter.

She with some assistance from editorial cartoonist Osama Hajjaj posted the cartoon in Arabic, French and English.

Aylan’s relatives living in Canada said they were stunned at Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon. Aylan’s father, Abdullah Kurdi told Sputnik magazine: “To be honest, after seeing this picture, I could not hold back my tears. I cannot even describe the feeling of bitterness that I experienced at that moment.

“What they did is horrible; it is an outrage to the memory of my son. Aylan was only two years old when his life was cut short.”

“As a Muslim, it pains me when someone derides Islam and my religious beliefs,” Queen Rania posted on Facebook.
“It also pains me when someone derides other religions and other people’s religious beliefs. But what offends me more, much more, are the actions of the criminals who dared to use Islam to justify the cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians. Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance and mercy.

“It is a source of comfort and strength for more than 1.6 billion Muslims… Today, I join His Majesty King Abdullah in Paris to stand in solidarity with the people of France in their darkest hour… To stand in unity against extremism in all its forms and to stand up for our cherished faith, Islam.”