The slain editor of Charlie Hebdo has slammed his left-wing critics from beyond the grave for criticising publication of drawings of Mohammad. In a book Stéphane Charbonnier, known as Charb, finished just two days before being murdered by jihadist gunmen he argued that left-leaning intellectuals who denounced the cartoons in the satirical magazine were ‘ridiculous demagogues’ for doing so. In the short book, extracts of which are to be published today in weekly magazine L'Obs, he writes: ‘The suggestion that you can laugh at everything, except certain aspects of Islam, because Muslims are much more susceptible than the rest of the population, what is that, if not discrimination? In a book Stéphane Charbonnier (pictured), known as Charb, finished just two days before being mowed down by jihadist gunmen he argued that left-leaning intellectuals who denounced the cartoons in the satirical magazine were ‘ridiculous demagogues’ Journalists hold placards reading 'I am Charlie' as they hold a minute of silence on January 7 following the attack by gunmen in the offices of Charlie Hebdo . ‘It's time to finish with this disgusting paternalism of the white, left-wing bourgeois intellectual seeking to prove himself among the “poor unfortunate undereducated”.’ The book, Lettre Ouverte aux Escrocs de l'Islamophobie qui Font le Jeu des Racistes (Open Letter to the Fraudsters of Islamophobia who Play into Racists' Hands), which may well rock the 'Je Suis Charlie' solidarity over the massacre, argues that some intellectuals who condemned the drawings were merely attention-seekers. It says: ‘Since I am educated, I understand that Charlie Hebdo is using humour. But out of respect for you [Muslims], since you haven't yet discovered second-degree humour, I will denounce these Islamophobic drawings that I pretend not to understand. I will put myself at your level to show that I love you. ‘These ridiculous demagogues just have a huge need to be the centre of attention and want to satisfy their formidable fantasy to dominate others.’ Charb asks why Islamophobia, which technically means ‘fear of Islam’, is being used by activists, media and politicians to denounce hatred of Muslims and wonders why ‘Muslimophobia’ is not used instead, or simply ‘racism’. He argues that ‘a lot of those who campaign against Islamophobia don't actually do it to defend Muslims as individuals, but to defend Prophet Mohammad's religion’. Charlie Hebdo’s satirical attacks on Islam drove two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi (pictured) to mount a deadly attack on its office in Paris . Charb also takes a pop at religion, and particularly at believers. ‘The problem is not the Koran or the Bible - sleep-inducing, incoherent and badly written novels - but the faithful who read the Koran or the Bible like you read assembly instructions for Ikea shelves,’ he writes. He condemns those who are ready to ‘cut the infidel's throats along the dotted line otherwise God will deprive me of Club Med in the afterlife’, according to the Daily Telegraph. He blames the media for helping popularise the term ‘Islamophobia’ because ‘any scandal that contains the word Islam in its title sells.’ ‘A terrorist is scary, but if you add that he's an Islamist, everyone wets themselves.’ And he also takes a dig at politicians whom he accuses of seeing Muslims where they should see regular citizens, and wanting to pander to a ‘Muslim electorate’. ‘That's saying that the majority of Muslims don't decide their vote according to the candidates' political ideas but according to the degree of sympathy they display towards Muslims,’ he argues. Charb also defends Charlie Hebdo's controversial depictions of the prophet and extremism over the years, which earned it accusations of Islamophobia. Chillingly, he refers to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's Inspire magazine which in 2013 published a list of 11 people accused of ‘crimes against Islam’ and wanted ‘dead or alive’. ‘I find my name, badly spelled but accompanied by a photo where you can recognise my alarmed face’ -- a picture he said was taken when the offices of the magazine were burnt down in 2011 shortly after a special edition was published under the title Charia Hebdo. ‘The skillful montage is titled “YES WE CAN” and below you can read: “a bullet a day keeps the infidel away”.’ Charlie Hebdo’s satirical attacks on Islam drove two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi to mount a deadly attack on its office in Paris. They burst into an editorial meeting on January 7, peppering Charb and nine other cartoonists with bullets before calmly leaving. They also shot dead a maintenance worker and a policeman who tried to stop them.
Stéphane Charbonnier finished a book just two days before he was killed .
The book blames the media for helping popularise the term ‘Islamophobia’
Extracts from it are being published today in weekly magazine L'Obs .