NOVANEWS
The world is in shock about the tragedy that occurred recently in Paris, it is said to be the bloodiest terrorist attack France has experienced in 20 years. All across social and global media the outrage and in my opinion misguided sentiments of people all around the world are being captured in headlines with the name Charlie Hebdo printed in big bright bold letters. Recently the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie started trending on twitter representing the solidarity of people in their stance for freedom of speech and the fact that they will not be silenced. Accordingly news media houses have capitalised on the sensationalisation of the incident by publishing catchy headlines recounting stories of the graphic incident which allegedly motivated 3 masked gunmen assumed to be “Muslim extremists” to go into the Paris Office of the French satirical magazine and aimlessly open fire leaving 12 innocent people dead.
I would like to say that I am deeply saddened by this incident and I would like to extend my condolences to the families and loved ones of all those who lost their lives in the incident. With that said, I feel it is my duty to highlight the fact that I believe that many people are using this platform as a means to fuel their racism/anti-Islamic agenda and to further promote Islamophobia. Unequivocally, it is important to understand that what recently happened in Paris is a travesty of Islam and does not reflect the thoughts or views of the majority of Muslims around the world. Furthermore these men were masked individuals and they have yet to be apprehended so who is to say that they were in fact Muslim extremist.
Just some food for thought????
Evidently, the outrage and the sentiments that are being echoed against Islam are unnecessary and misappropriated. Consequently, I am of the conviction that the focus at this time should be dedicated towards making a distinction between Islamic extremism and the more moderate Muslim majority. It is unfair to the wider Muslim community if we continue to create a situation where they are led to suffer or feel threatened as a result of the alleged acts of delinquent extremists and honestly, promoting or endorsing revanchism will not provide any lasting solutions to this problem.
I understand that alot of people are outraged and deeply disgruntled but Islam is not the problem and furthering racist agendas is not what our time and energies should be dedicated towards in this dark time as the world mourns the deaths of these individuals. Undoubtedly, all the indignation that people are currently feeling should be channeled towards the people who lost their loved ones. In the words of Don Miguel Ruiz “true justice is only paying once for each mistake”. Subsequently, in the aftermath of this crisis some extrospection needs to be done to ensure that what happened in Paris never occurs again.
I do believe that many people do not understand that in their reckless banter about Islam they are furthering the racism and segregationism that is “Islamophobia”. It is the promotion of these ideals that led to this predicament in the first place. Evidently, “Freedom of Speech” is essential but it creates room for debate when this freedom of speech is used to promote racist and prejudice ideals. Everything we say or do eventually attracts consequences and that is why we should act responsibly in the things that we endorse and promote. I must make it clear that I am in no shape or form justifying the acts of these individuals; I just find that there is need for some insertion of logic within all the chaotic discussions.
Islamophobia is not a novel phenomenon in Europe in fact it has been steadily increasing over the years and currently is at a very critical stage in its maturity.The 2014 elections all across Europe illustrated this, these elections occasioned the rise of far-right parties who openly promoted racism and islamophobia in their hate speeches across various political spectrums. This has become a commonplace in the European domestc politics in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, as well as, Northern and Southern European countries. To be more specific, let us take Germany for example where anti-Islam protests recently made headlines. Over 10,000 people took to the streets to demonstrate against Islam in Cologne, Berlin and Dresden led by the German anti-Islam group called the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident formally known as Pediga. Movements of this said nature are slowly gaining momentum all across Europe and I believe that by sensationalizing the Charlie Hebdo incident and making it a Muslim issue; it is doing more harm than good as it is furthering Islamophobia.
I would like to close by stating that we should rally for unity and understanding; most of all we need to think logically. Often times when faced with crisis as human beings we tend to try to villanize someone. This is in an effort to proportion the blame towards someone or something so that we can have an object to vent our frustration or whatever emotions we are feeling. Charlie Hebdo does not symbolize a situation of us (non-Muslims – good guys) against them (Muslims- bad guys). However, it symbolizes an opportunity to have a conscious discussion about this issue; one that has for too long been ignored.
