The French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo,
targeted in a deadly attack earlier this year by Islamist gunmen, was honored on
Tuesday at a New York gala under heavy security, organizers said.
The award from the PEN American Center came two days after two gunmen opened fire at a Texas exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Drawings of the founder of Islam were also at the heart of the January attack on Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices that killed 12 people.
"Charlie Hebdo's current staff have persisted, and tonight's award reflects their refusal to accept the curtailment of lawful speech through violence," PEN President Andrew Solomon told the gala, filled with literary figures.
Accepting the award, Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gerard Biard said the most powerful weapon of religious extremists is fear and "we must disarm them."
"They don't want us to write and draw. We must write and draw," he said. "They don't want us to think and laugh. We must think and laugh. They don't want us to debate. We must debate."
Some writers withdrew from the event after PEN's decision. One novelist who withdrew, Rachel Kushner, said she was not comfortable with Charlie Hebdo's "cultural intolerance," PEN said.
The award from the PEN American Center came two days after two gunmen opened fire at a Texas exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Drawings of the founder of Islam were also at the heart of the January attack on Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices that killed 12 people.
"Charlie Hebdo's current staff have persisted, and tonight's award reflects their refusal to accept the curtailment of lawful speech through violence," PEN President Andrew Solomon told the gala, filled with literary figures.
Accepting the award, Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gerard Biard said the most powerful weapon of religious extremists is fear and "we must disarm them."
"They don't want us to write and draw. We must write and draw," he said. "They don't want us to think and laugh. We must think and laugh. They don't want us to debate. We must debate."
Some writers withdrew from the event after PEN's decision. One novelist who withdrew, Rachel Kushner, said she was not comfortable with Charlie Hebdo's "cultural intolerance," PEN said.
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