Charlie Hebdo - What is all the fuzz about?

 Two weeks ago, Islamic extremists staged an attack on the headquarters of the French weekly "Charlie Hebdo". That attack in itself cost the life of 13 innocent French people. A couple of days ago then, 3,7 million Parisians took to the street in order to stand for freedom of speech, against extremism. 

As a society of the 21st century we still have to think about what the attacks should teach us and what they should make us aware of.

Most importantly we have to think of how we want to apply secularism to our societies: the Oxford dictionary defines secular as "Not connected with spiritual or religious matters", therefore living in a secular state means that we live in a state which is independent from religion. Back in the day, centuries ago as far as Europe is concerned, this idea mostly had political implications. And even though religion did, as a result, not have any impact on politics anymore, pretty much each and every individual strongly believed in some kind of God or any divinity that applies to the different regions and beliefs. If we take a look around the world we can see many different intensities of secularism. Let's firstly take Iran, or as it is officially known The Islamic Republic of Iran, for example. As its name suggests, religion and religious leaders still play a huge role. State and religion are closely connected and the idea of secularism is still far from reality. Our next stop is Turkey. A country, which since its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, is officially a secular one. While the religious influence is on a level which is certainly far from the level which we can observe in Iran, the country is even today struggling with figuring out, how important religion actually is for it. Yesterday, the first "post-attack" edition of Charlie Hebdo was published in France and today the Turkish daily "Hürryet" published a translated version of some of the cartoons, which were shown in the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo. None of them showed the Muslim prophet Muhammad. And still the police raided the printing press of the newspaper and a court in Turkey ruled that none of the cartoons from the latest Charlie Hebdo magazine shall be accessible through the Internet. The just of it is, that at this point religion does indeed impact "normal" live severely. In fact, everyone who has been to Turkey before will be able to confirm how much religion influences daily life. Many more people believe in the idea of religion and follow the rituals that come with that, than it is the case in more Western European countries, especially Britain, France, Germany, and the Benelux countries. So even though in Turkey, religious leaders do not have a serious influence in politics, the religious ideas and habits have an increasingly strong influence on politics, especially with Erdogan being the president.

So where can we see the deepest secularism? Well, I believe that is the case of Central, Northern and Western Europe, as well as parts of Asia, where there are values and ideals represented in everyday life which can be traced back to Buddhism. As a student in 21st century Germany, I feel that here, secularism goes beyond the idea of separating politics from the church. Here, and most certainly also in other European countries, it can be observed, that society and everyday life are secularized as well. This doesn't necessarily mean that people just don't believe in God or any kind of religion anymore, but that most people are so tolerant that they just don't really care or simply shouldn't care. I believe that if people feel that they want to believe in the ideals, philosophy, individuals, sacred places or what they connect with their religion, they are welcome to do so and no one should question them for doing so. In return, that also means that those who believe in a divinity should tolerate those who believe in something else or nothing at all. And that is exactly the point where we return to the Charlie Hebdo attack which was apparently triggered through the paper publishing drawings of the prophet Muhammad. Now I do certainly agree, that directly insulting, discriminating or hurting people on purpose is nothing that should happen - not for their skin colour, hobbies, religion, food preferences, looks, abilities or anything that one could imagine, but is that what Charlie Hebdo did? Did they directly target Muslims and insult them? Well, they didn’t. They do as a matter of fact do not target any specific religion. It happens just as well that they publish cartoons that make fun of Christianity. Should they be allowed to do so? Of course they should. Why? Well, with humour which is not directed strictly against a certain ethnicity or religion, you do quite frankly not spur hatred by any stretch of the imagination. If I don’t like that a certain magazine mocks ideals of mine, I just don’t read it. I don’t even consider buying it. Let’s take a very simple analogy here. Imagine you were the greatest football fan ever. Would you buy a basketball magazine in which every now and then they have cartoons where they mock football? No, of course not. And you wouldn’t even care if they publish those cartoons, because you wouldn’t see them. One might make the argument now that one can’t compare religion to football and to be quite honest, I agree with that in certain circumstances. In countries like Iran or even Turkey it’s probably not possible to compare because in those two countries, religion has such a high and important standing that it sets itself completely apart. If we take the issue to Europe, however, things are very much different. Football, or any hobby can be the great passion of any individual, just as any religion. Those people will certainly feel insulted if somebody mocks their sport, their great passion. But should we therefore forbid any kind of opinions or cartoon? No. Of course not. That’s what freedom of speech consists in.

To come to a conclusion on that point – yes, satirical newspapers should indeed be allowed to mock anyone and anything they want, as long as they don’t just target one group which is made fun of. That is how societies work. As long, as mocking and poking about doesn’t turn into hatred and discrimination, it’s all fine. One must not directly feel insulted just because someone is making fun of him for once.

If you’re living in one of those highly developed countries like Germany, U.K. or France, at some point you have to accept that you’re living in a heterogeneous society in which we need to learn to live with all those other cultures, religions and passions. In the end we all share the same values. Apart from religion, we live the same lives and experience the same things. Those common values should not be questionable under any circumstances. Democracy, freedom, openness to different beliefs, to advances in science, open markets, social systems and so on. All those values are unquestionable in Western European countries and rightfully so. It doesn’t matter if there are more mosques than churches or any at all, as long as we all recognize those values and respect them above everything else. If you don’t feel comfortable in that certain environment you are welcome to move to a place where the environment looks the way you imagine it to be. If you don’t like depictions of your divinity to be shown on any kind of paper in any kind of context and therefore don’t agree with the principle of freedom of press, of speech and the idea that we must tolerate all those living among us, then the E.U. is not the place for you, whether you are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or any other practitioner of religion.

The most pure expression of freedom of speech, at this moment, can be found in France, where the French people at Charlie Hebdo made fun of the Pope, of Christian Priests, of their president, Muhammad and of internationally known and dangerous terrorist leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. For this freedom, history has shown us that French people have willingly sacrificed themselves over and over again and they will continue to do so – 3,7 million people in Paris confirmed this.

 In a free society, you are free to ignore or attack in a justice court the things which disturb you in one way or another – and you will get justice, whether you win or lose the trial.

Charlie Hebdo - a perfect opportunity for governments?

                                                photo source: indianexpress.com    


In our first article about the events in France, we expressed our hope that the French Police would treat the case of the terrorists that opened fire in the center of Paris, which led to the deaths of 12 people, with care, caution and professionalism.

Now that all the events have unfolded, we can clearly say that it is unfortunate how the events turned out. The French Police worked professionally and did it's best to protect the civilians, while the French government did the same, by deploying more troops and more policemen to take part in the safekeeping mission.

Even so, with all these measures taken, civilians still died and the terrorists still got the chance to a final act of terror, taking hostages and killing other innocents, before they met their end, after a heavy fire exchange with the Police.

One has to wonder - what will the repercussions of these events be? How will they affect France? How will they affect the world?

You don't have to wait for long to see the results. In the USA, a well known TV station had an 'internationally recognized terrorist expert', who stated that in UK there are 'no-go zones' for non-Muslims. He also stated that these 'no-go zones' are a thing all around the EU - Germany, France, Sweden, Italy and so on. He did not only stop there, but also went on saying that Birmingham, UK's second largest city, is a place where non-Muslims don't go any more, since now it is a fully Muslim city. All this may come as a surprise for the inhabitants of Birmingham, as only 21% of the population is Muslim in that city. This 'expert' has also added that there is a religious Police in parts of London, parts that are closed even to the government. I have never been to London, but I have a feeling that I won't find a lot of religious Police when I will get there -  be that tomorrow or in the next  years.

On the other hand, Spain has raised its security level, in the wake of the attacks, and the Spanish Interior Minister mentioned  in a statement the fact that Spain is sharing information with France.

At a security summit following the attacks in Paris, which took place in Brussels, the European powers agreed upon establishing a European-wide passenger data system. Airlines will be obliged to retain passenger information for up to five years.

Many governments are currently trying to push for legislation that would allow them to access personal data, in order to maintain the security of their countries. This has been quite controversial in the past, but after these events, many would rather have a tighter control instead of being exposed to terrorist threats.

The world will be affected by all of these measures, but not only because governments will adopt them, but also because, this time, more people will see them necessary.

Tout est pardone

photo source: Middle East Monitor

Besides the reaction of the governments, many people have taken to the streets in marches of solidarity. There have been such events in all of the EU , showing that the people of the Union are united in the face of terror and that the common values that the EU shares within its borders are stronger than any bullet or any threat.

The solidarity marches have not been present in the EU only, but also in Moscow, New York, Istanbul, Beirut, Jerusalem, Sydney, Tokyo.

We can clearly observe that many people were shocked and moved by these latest events, but were they so shocked that Muslims in Europe will soon feel the fury of a population who's tired of all these events? We hope not and again would like to remind that dialogue is the solution: dialogue, understanding of each other, patience and compromise.

As we've stated before, Europe is no longer as it was, nor should it be. In a world of constant change, we can only adapt and make the best of it. Each has the right to its own destiny, religion, opinion, education, etc., as long as he or she does not injure or hurt another person in the pursuit of these rights.

Many are stating that what the people from Charlie Hebdo have published is immoral and offensive. Thank God (whichever one you feel like thanking) that in a civilized world, such as in the EU, there are courts of justice, where one can actually challenge things that he or she might find offensive. That's how it works in the 21st century. If you feel like drawing, publishing or simply doing something controversial, daring, etc., you must be ready to face the consequences - in court; and the people from Charlie Hebdo were already doing that with some persons who have challenged them. Some cases were won by the magazine, some were lost, but it wasn't the lottery - it was justice (civilized world justice).

Even though we, at REIPO, urge for dialogue and peaceful solutions, we already observed that harsh comments against Muslims have already started to appear. One of these examples, and probably one of the most iconic at this moment, since it comes from a person who is a Muslim himself - a Muslim who lives and the EU, Netherlands to be precise, a person who is a public figure - the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, went on with a straightforward statement on LIVE TV, stating that Muslims who do not like freedom and who do not appreciate it, can leave. He said that in a very rude manner: ' Don't like freedom? F*** off!'. This kind of reactions are the ones who we, at REIPO, do not support. We believe in cooperation, above all else. Only when it becomes impossible, and by impossible I mean untouchable, unachievable, insane, downright mad to pursue dialogue and cooperation, only then such comments are reasonable ones.

It is tragic what happened in Paris, but we should be aware that the bullets shot at the people inside the building may have created more damage to the Muslim community than to those for which the bullets were meant.

#‎jesuischarlie‬

photo source: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/07/world/social-media-jesuischarlie/

In the recent events in Paris, France, many people, in shock, have stated that Islam should get out of Europe. Many people have cried out for a Europe safe of these kind of attacks. A Europe without Muslims.

That is not a good approach, simply because Europe, like the world, is in a constant change. The current reality of Europe is not as it was. We are living in a mixed society, where Muslims and Christians and every other religion must cooperate between themselves and not hate each other on these differences. We are living in a mixed society, where, even though we have our ethnic, cultural, religious or social differences, we must share the same values! That is one of the most important things - common values. Freedom of speech, freedom of movement, etc. - those are values that should be regarded as top ranking, values that should be kept, no matter the costs!

The measures taken right now by the French authorities are normal, considering the social disturbances these terrorist actions have taken. It is my personal belief that, in order to stop the radicalization of both parties - people in Europe who are moving against Muslims and Muslims who become Islamists- a very high degree of tolerance is needed. Tolerance coming, of course, from both parties. Europe is not for Christians only and Europe, at the same time, is not for Muslims only. Europe is for everyone to enjoy!

It is my sincere belief that the enforcement of law shall be made and the authorities will apprehend the terrorists alive, after which they will be trialed and given an appropriate sentence. Otherwise it is eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, which is not, in any way, the Christian teaching.

Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and with the French nation at this moment, a nation which has to remain unwavering in the face of terror.