Courtesy Photo “Islam is peace, it is not barabarism,” reads a sign during the Marche Repuplicaine in Paris on Jan. 11 at the Place de la Republique. People from all over the world gathered in tribute to the 17 victims killed in the initial attacks, and the days that followed, by Al Qaeda.
People across the world have once again united under a common cause in the wake of the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, France.
For those of you that aren’t aware, Charlie Hebdo is the Parisian equivalent to The Onion. They are a satirical magazine, and have made headlines in the past for their offensive, sometimes questionable, political cartoon covers. While it’s fine to question the wisdom in publishing something that will undoubtedly offend an entire section of humanity, we must never question the right to publish anything, no matter what. Freedom of the press is paramount to having freedom in general, and the day it gets taken away is truly a sad day for democracy.
Immediately following the attacks, journalists and newspapers across the world debuted in special editions, running their own editorials and cartoons about the Hebdo attacks. Showing guns shattering pencils, art supplies collected to look like an assault rifle, fists clenched in power around a paintbrush, call-to-arms for journalists and artists across the world to say the same thing, to take a stand and let it be known that no one will cower in fear because of this, that this will just make the voice of freedom all the stronger.
In the wake of all of this, another side has been coming out. E-mails from Al Jazeera, as well as the leaders of the Catholic church in America, have reminded people repeatedly that Charlie Hebdo, while practicing their freedom, would repeatedly and viciously skew religion.
I’ve seen the cartoons published by the magazine, and they are pretty offensive in nature. What seems to be lost on many people is that Charlie Hebdo is, by all accounts, an equal-opportunity offender. Staunchly anti-religion, yes, but they skewered faith across the board. I want it to be clear that the Catholic church, and the journalists at Al Jazeera, repeatedly condemned the attacks. What they did do was question the ‘right’ to be hateful and put down/offend an entire population.
The way I see it, it’s fine to question the wisdom in publishing things like that, but the right to do so? That must never be brought into question. I don’t see people talking about South Park this way, and they’ve made many of the same jokes I’ve seen on the cover of Charlie Hebdo.
As always happens when there is an attack like this, people are blaming the entire Muslim faith for the actions of a few horribly misguided extremists. I need everyone reading this to please take these words to heart. Islam is not an enemy. Extremism, in any form, is.
The Islamic faith is based around the same principles that the Christian faith is, those of peace and love, across the board. In the wake of the attacks, several mosques around France were firebombed and burned to the ground. This is an unacceptable reaction. As the voice of terror gets louder in this world, the rallying cries by racist and right-wing groups across the globe raise in response. Anti-Islamic sentiment is spreading like a virus across this world, and continuing to be incapable of distinguishing the difference between terrorism and people practicing a peaceful religion is unacceptable, especially in this world that, more and more, prides itself on being accepting.
Just as #JeSuisCharlie took off, the hashtag #JeSuisAhmed was formed and used across the world. Ahmed Merabet was a police officer killed by the terrorists that day, and he was a devout Muslim as well. As the anti-Islamic sentiment grew in the days immediately following the attack, Parisians began using the hashtag to remind the world what had happened, that a Muslim man had died defending a newspaper that routinely mocked his religion. Memes began circulating of CCTV video from Ahmed’s death, with arrows pointing to one of the gunmen labeled “This is a terrorist.” and another pointing to Ahmed labeled “This is a Muslim.”
The day after the initial attack, a kosher grocery store was taken hostage by one of the gunmen, Amedy Coulibaly, and four people were killed. In the ensuing shootout with police, Coulibaly was killed as well. There may have been more deaths if not for the quick thinking of a Muslim immigrant now being hailed as a hero. Lassana Bathily risked his life to help 15 of the grocery store’s customers hide in a freezer in the back. It was the survivors who started calling him a hero. When asked about his actions, Bathily said “They told me ‘thank you, really,’ and I said “it’s nothing.. That’s life.”
It’s long past time we learned the difference between terrorism and religion, and have to stop holding 1.5 billion people responsible for the actions of a few insane, evil men.
Satire has a place in this world. Even cruel satire. No one should ever die for a cartoon or a bunch of words on a page, no matter how offensive they may be. It’s for that reason that I said, and continue to say, Je Suis Charlie.
Je Suis Charlie
Courtesy Photo
“Islam is peace, it is not barabarism,” reads a sign during the Marche Repuplicaine in Paris on Jan. 11 at the Place de la Republique. People from all over the world gathered in tribute to the 17 victims killed in the initial attacks, and the days that followed, by Al Qaeda.
People across the world have once again united under a common cause in the wake of the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, France.
For those of you that aren’t aware, Charlie Hebdo is the Parisian equivalent to The Onion. They are a satirical magazine, and have made headlines in the past for their offensive, sometimes questionable, political cartoon covers. While it’s fine to question the wisdom in publishing something that will undoubtedly offend an entire section of humanity, we must never question the right to publish anything, no matter what. Freedom of the press is paramount to having freedom in general, and the day it gets taken away is truly a sad day for democracy.
Immediately following the attacks, journalists and newspapers across the world debuted in special editions, running their own editorials and cartoons about the Hebdo attacks. Showing guns shattering pencils, art supplies collected to look like an assault rifle, fists clenched in power around a paintbrush, call-to-arms for journalists and artists across the world to say the same thing, to take a stand and let it be known that no one will cower in fear because of this, that this will just make the voice of freedom all the stronger.
In the wake of all of this, another side has been coming out. E-mails from Al Jazeera, as well as the leaders of the Catholic church in America, have reminded people repeatedly that Charlie Hebdo, while practicing their freedom, would repeatedly and viciously skew religion.
I’ve seen the cartoons published by the magazine, and they are pretty offensive in nature. What seems to be lost on many people is that Charlie Hebdo is, by all accounts, an equal-opportunity offender. Staunchly anti-religion, yes, but they skewered faith across the board. I want it to be clear that the Catholic church, and the journalists at Al Jazeera, repeatedly condemned the attacks. What they did do was question the ‘right’ to be hateful and put down/offend an entire population.
The way I see it, it’s fine to question the wisdom in publishing things like that, but the right to do so? That must never be brought into question. I don’t see people talking about South Park this way, and they’ve made many of the same jokes I’ve seen on the cover of Charlie Hebdo.
As always happens when there is an attack like this, people are blaming the entire Muslim faith for the actions of a few horribly misguided extremists. I need everyone reading this to please take these words to heart. Islam is not an enemy. Extremism, in any form, is.
The Islamic faith is based around the same principles that the Christian faith is, those of peace and love, across the board. In the wake of the attacks, several mosques around France were firebombed and burned to the ground. This is an unacceptable reaction. As the voice of terror gets louder in this world, the rallying cries by racist and right-wing groups across the globe raise in response. Anti-Islamic sentiment is spreading like a virus across this world, and continuing to be incapable of distinguishing the difference between terrorism and people practicing a peaceful religion is unacceptable, especially in this world that, more and more, prides itself on being accepting.
Just as #JeSuisCharlie took off, the hashtag #JeSuisAhmed was formed and used across the world. Ahmed Merabet was a police officer killed by the terrorists that day, and he was a devout Muslim as well. As the anti-Islamic sentiment grew in the days immediately following the attack, Parisians began using the hashtag to remind the world what had happened, that a Muslim man had died defending a newspaper that routinely mocked his religion. Memes began circulating of CCTV video from Ahmed’s death, with arrows pointing to one of the gunmen labeled “This is a terrorist.” and another pointing to Ahmed labeled “This is a Muslim.”
The day after the initial attack, a kosher grocery store was taken hostage by one of the gunmen, Amedy Coulibaly, and four people were killed. In the ensuing shootout with police, Coulibaly was killed as well. There may have been more deaths if not for the quick thinking of a Muslim immigrant now being hailed as a hero. Lassana Bathily risked his life to help 15 of the grocery store’s customers hide in a freezer in the back. It was the survivors who started calling him a hero. When asked about his actions, Bathily said “They told me ‘thank you, really,’ and I said “it’s nothing.. That’s life.”
It’s long past time we learned the difference between terrorism and religion, and have to stop holding 1.5 billion people responsible for the actions of a few insane, evil men.
Satire has a place in this world. Even cruel satire. No one should ever die for a cartoon or a bunch of words on a page, no matter how offensive they may be. It’s for that reason that I said, and continue to say, Je Suis Charlie.