Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

 

No sensible man can justify the terror attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that claimed the lives of 12 staff members. The French police killed the two assailants and thus were unable to interrogate them to learn the real motive behind the attack. This raises some questions about who the real beneficiaries of the heinous attack were as the hostile reaction included the publishing of more cartoons offensive to the Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as harming Muslims in general and French Muslims in particular.



The attack also saved the magazine which was said to be on the brink of bankruptcy as it was selling only 50,000 copies. However, following the attack, nearly five million copies of the magazine were sold and it was translated into several languages. On the other hand, the incident resulted in attacks on a number of mosques and against some Muslims in France.



Despite this, there have been several reasonable voices like that of Former French prime minister Dominique De Villepin. Speaking to France’s BFM TV, De Villepin held Western foreign policy responsible for the multiplication of terrorism hotspots around the world. He described the so-called Islamic State as the "deformed child" of this policy, which he described as arrogant and erratic. De Villepin said that military intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Mali has contributed to a surge in terrorism.



Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Sakari Tuomioja ridiculed the West’s hypocrisy with regard to freedom of expression. He said: “If any harm is done to Sweden, it is called racism. If anything is done offending women, it is called chauvinism. If any harm is done to Jews, it is called anti-Semitism, and at the same time if any offense is done to Muslims, it is called freedom of expression!”



There was nothing strange when the entire world responded positively to a call made by the French president to take part in a march of one million people against terrorism. About 50 world leaders gathered in Paris to attend the rally. But the strange and abominable aspect was that those in front of the rally included the Jewish "terrorist" and killer of innocent women and children Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel. He ordered merciless bombardment on Gaza Strip, demolishing not only houses, mosques and hospitals of Palestinians but also the offices of the United Nations at a time when a large number of unarmed civilians, including women and children, had taken shelter there in order to escape from Israeli aggression. Taking shelter at even UN offices did not help them save their lives.



But, unfortunately, none of these leaders blasted or denounced this barbaric attack. On the other hand, the man who was responsible for such crimes stood shamelessly at the forefront of the march to express solidarity with France against terrorism. Of course, any leader with a good conscience must have been ashamed to stand beside a terrorist.



The French and other Western states are supposed to oppose ridiculing and offending Islam and its Prophet (pbuh) but they did nothing, apparently in the name of freedom of expression. But those who raised such justifications are neglecting what happened to the famous French philosopher Roger Garaudy, who reverted to Islam. Garaudy published his most controversial book titled “The founding myths of modern Israel” in which he denied the Holocaust. The book was an attack on the mythologization and use of the Holocaust by the Israeli government as policy, and disproving the myth upon which Israel was founded and the actual death toll of Jews at the hands of Hitler’s army. The French court banned any further publication of Garaudy's book, and he was fined and sentenced to prison.



In a similar case, British author David Irving, a specialist in the history of the Second World War, was arrested for Holocaust denial in Austria and has been in jail for three years. He was arrested when he arrived in Austria to deliver a lecture on Nazism and the court issued its verdict even after Irving apologized for the denial of the Holocaust.



All of this demonstrates the double standard and hypocrisy of freedom of expression. On one hand, everything related to Judaism becomes sacred and if anyone speaks against it, he faces a jail term or fine. On the other hand, speaking against Islam and its Prophet (pbuh) becomes permissible in the name of freedom of expression! Why didn’t freedom of expression prevent Charlie Hebdo magazine from forcing Sine, one of its cartoonists, to resign because of his refusal to apologize for writing a column citing a news item related to the conversion of Jean Sarkozy, son of Nicolas Sarkozy, to Judaism?



The latest episode in the series of such incidents related to freedom of expression was the resignation of the veteran CNN anchor Jim Clancy, one week after a series of Twitter posts in which he mocked pro-Israel tweeters on a thread discussing the Charlie Hebdo attack. He criticized the tendency to label all Muslims as terrorists, saying this had nothing to do with truth and fairness. He also tweeted, arguing that the cartoons posted by Charlie Hebdo did not mock Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with the same intensity as the mockery by those who wanted to defame Islam, with a clear hint to the Israeli media.  



Amid reports of violent protests in the Islamic world against the publication of the blasphemous cartoons, there have been several prominent non-Muslim leaders, including the Pope and the British prime minister, who came forward to warn against offending religions and prophets in the name of freedom of expression.



We hope that the French judiciary shall not disregard the petitions filed by some individuals and Islamic organizations asking it to stop the republishing of blasphemous cartoons and articles which offend any religions or their leaders.

 

— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com