• 01:50
  • Friday ,16 January 2015
العربية

Charlie Hebdo and European conscience

Dr. Ahmed Al-Khamisi

Article Of The Day

00:01

Friday ,16 January 2015

Charlie Hebdo and European conscience

America and Europe were turned upside down after the killing of 12 employees at the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Security Council held a minute's silence for the victims. President Obama went personally to the French Embassy to offer his sincere condolences. Most Arab leaders offered their condolences, and media has denounced the attack. Moreover, dozens of world leaders participated in the French demonstration to condemn terrorism.

Bloodshed deserves all of that, but a number of French observers were surprised that the French newspaper "Twenty minutes" broke the news three minutes after the incident, and Israeli media identified the perpetrators fifteen minutes later!


Does America have to fuel such campaign against Islam to justify the criminal military intervention in Syria, Iraq and Libya? Such questions were posed by "wiki strick" website!

I wonder how come the European conscience cares that much for Charlie Hebdo attack, but not for other attacks in the Middle East. According to a report issued by the Committee to Protect international journalists, more than 30 journalists were killed in Syria, Gaza and Iraq in 2014. At the same year, 500 children were killed in Gaza, but nobody cares!
The next question is: How can we consider mocking people's beliefs as freedom of expression? Charlie Hebdo has published in February 2006 the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad? In 2013, they published new cartoons of Prophet Mohamed claiming they mock all religions. Yet, they never published cartoons mocking other religions like Judaism.  

In 1937, Adham Ismail published an article to entitle "Why I am an atheist" in which he declared his atheism without insulting Christianity or Islam. There is a difference between freedom of speech and insulting people’s beliefs.
Author David Brooks has pointed out in an article published in “The New York Times” saying that if the French newspaper wanted during the past twenty years to publish such cartoons in a university, it would have been accused of inciting hatred and would be closed.
The fourth question: Do we need to defend Islam with so many fanatics or teach the world that fanaticism acts only belong to their doers?  The real problem is that the European conscience is shaken for killing 12 journalists, and ignores the suffering of hundreds of children in Gaza and Syria. We should address the west saying: It’s time to wake up!