The Wednesday’s deadly terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo office could not be more outrageous. Rather than defending Islam, the perpetrators had affronted Islam and Muslims. In other words, the attack in the name of Islam is nothing but a betrayal of Islam itself. To be sure, the vast majority of Muslims cannot accept that those culprits define.
It is not as if the incident is only a French concern. In fact, Muslims all over the world should not be oblivious to the fact that such an attack could hurt Muslims’ relations with the rest of the world. This is true especially in the West where millions of Muslims live. In some parts of Europe, there has been a rise in Islamophobia and a reemergence of far-right groups.
Equally important, many Europeans see Muslims living in Europe as nothing but a threat to the fabric of their societies. For this reason, Europe is seething with anti- Muslim immigrants sentiments. This can only provide far-right nationalists parties such as France’s National Front with further ammunition in their anti-Muslims stands. With this deadly attack, more French will fear that radicals might carry out similar attacks in the future.
The attack is shocking to the French society. According to Prof. Olivier Roy, a French scholar on political Islam, “the attack is a quantitative and therefore qualitative turning point…This was a maximum-impact attack…They did this to shock the public, and in that sense they succeeded.”
For years, Marine Le Pen’s National Front has been capitalizing on Islamophobic discourse. This trend is most likely to continue in the near future especially with the deadly attacks of last week. Fresh in the minds of the French people is that March 2012 Toulouse attack in which seven were killed. The French are concerned that their country may become a focus of jihad spearheaded by French citizens.
France was traumatized by the terrorist attack and therefore the anti-immigrants sentiments are likely to increase. To be sure, the anti-immigrant attitudes in France are in part caused by the moribund economy with the rise of the unemployment rates.
The resentment against Muslim immigrants is hardly a new phenomenon. And yet, the Wednesday attack is most likely to sharpen anti-Muslim resentments in France and also in other countries in Europe. For this reason, French president’s statement that his country is in war against terror and not against Islam is a wise one.
The bottom line is that Islam does not need anyone for its defense. The culprits don’t represent Muslims. But this is not to say that Muslims should sit idly by and do nothing. I believe we need to reconsider our educational system and should try to propagate the true teachings of Islam. This mission can be accomplished by the governments and should not be left to radicals.
In other words, we have to wake up and realize that Muslims are the ones who will be hurt with the actions of these militants. Fixing educations is a must but also fixing politics is the most important step. Radicalization is in part a product of politics. Were it not for war carried out by Iran, Hezbollah, and Assad on the Syrian people, the Islamic State would not have expanded or attracted European militants. Seen in this way, Hezbollah has contributed to no small amount to the rise of Sunni radical groups. Hassan Nassarallah’s condemnation of the attack is dishonest to say the least. It should be seen in the context of his attempt to demonize Assad’s enemies in Syria rather than a true stand against terrorism.
