From day one, I was among far too few non-Muslims condemning Charlie Hebdo for publishing anti-Muslim cartoons.
It’s one thing to defy Islamic jihadists to expose human rights and other abuses Muslims perpetrate in the name of Islam — as Hirsi Ali and van Gogh did with their film. It’s quite another to do so merely to propagate caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad — as Charlie Hebdo and its celebrated cartoonists did with their cartoons. The former clearly informs and has undeniable redeeming social value; whereas the latter serves no purpose other than to provoke/offend Muslims (for the amusement of non-Muslims?).
Put another way, would so many people be standing in solidarity with these cartoonists if they were propagating racist caricatures of Blacks — complete with liberal use of the word “nigger” in speech bubbles…? Or, perhaps more relevant to Europeans, would so many people be standing in solidarity with them if they were propagating anti-Semitic caricatures of Jews — complete with hooked nose sniffing for financial schemes…? I don’t think so…
No amount of religious or cultural offense can ever justify the kind of jihadi justice meted out against Charlie Hebdo and its staff today – no matter how repugnant, or indeed sacrilege, their offense.
(“Massacre in Paris: Islamic Jihadist Come Home to Roost,” The iPINIONS Journal, January 7, 2015)
Imagine my feeling of solidarity, therefore, when Pope Francis affirmed our condemnation — not only of mass murder in the name of religion, but also of religious insult in the name of freedom of speech.
Here in part is what he pronounced just hours ago:
To kill in the name of God is an aberration.
[However], if [a close friend] says a swear word against my mother, he’s going to get a punch in the nose. One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith.
(TIME, January 15, 2015)
Amen.
By the way, I hope it’s self-evident that the pope was speaking metaphorically about punching his friend in the nose (instead of turning that proverbial other cheek). He clearly said this to convey the depth of offense such insults provoke. Not to mention that he prefaced this illustrative point with several pronouncements condemning violence, to say nothing of mass murder, as a reaction to religious insult.
That said, bear in mind that you’d be hard-pressed to find a single politician or pundit in the West who has not gotten on board the ‘Je Suis Charlie’ bandwagon. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a single one who has not hailed Francis as the most compelling and consequential religious leader of our times.
Therefore, it will be really interesting to see if this papal rebuke has a chastening effect on all who have been blithely riding along with those religious bullies (or, as the pope might call them, mean-spirited provocateurs) at Charlie Hebdo.
UPDATE
French PM echoes my view on root causes of Muslim violence
January 20
Those who took exception to my criticism of the “Je Suis Charlie” rallying cry also took exception to my warnings about feelings of disenfranchisement, disillusionment, and disaffection among Muslim youth, which lead inevitably to anger, rage, and pathological violence. I originally issued warnings in this respect in “Caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad Incite Fiery Rage, Part II,” February 6, 2006, and again, most recently, in “Massacre in Paris: Islamic Jihadists Come Home to Roost,” January 7, 2015.
So imagine my feeling of vindication when French Prime Minister Manuel Valls echoed my warnings. For here in part is what he admitted during a speech today before the National Assembly in Paris:
We have to look at all the divisions, the tensions that have been going on for years … the neglect of the suburbs, the ghettos, the social misery…
A geographical, social and ethnic apartheid has established itself in our country.
(Reuters, January 20, 2015)
I rest my case.
Related commentaries:
Massacre in Paris…