Brought up the ages as I think its very reasonable to say what is appropriate for certain ages and not for others? Fair to assume it was the older group, but even 14-16 year olds, it's pretty questionable using it (IMO, after doing a Google search over what the images could be).
I dunno though. Using the image I don't see it as beneficial to the actual discussion. How it probably goes is:
- this artist made this image
- People got offended, and it escalated into a tragedy as a result
Maybe the intent wasn't bad. But I don't think the message you're trying to send about correcting Islamophobia is the one that gets across to teenages. You probably get more of a push back as the reaction was obviously disproportionate to the "offence" here. I'd be pleasantly surprised if the actual reaction would be what you said. I don't see that being the case though, but I guess at that point it's all just guessing.