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Je suis Charlie. Je suis Juive
Last week France was struck in a reign of terror. Satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo; which is known for its anti-theistic comedic antics published a series of images depicting the Islamic prophet Mohamed. Hebdo which has joked about the likes of Jesus, the pope, as well as other Judeo-Christian figures, came under attack last week when two masked gunmen marched into the magazine's headquarters screaming "Allahu Akbar" which translates to "God is great" in Arabic. In total 12 writers and comics were killed in a western country for depicting the image of a prophet in a religion for which they did not follow. Many say that the satirical magazine should've thought before they published the images of the Muslim prophet, and that they knew the risk in doing so, I think differently.
I do not in any way agree with much of the material published by Hebdo, in fact my faith has been one of its targets. But it's satire, satire is critique-based humor that plays off of current affairs and political/religious motifs to create controversy and laughs. I get that fully, and I appreciate that we can life in a western world where journalists can critique political and religious figures without interception from the government. We value freedom of the press and freedom of speech in countries like France, Israel, and the United States to name a few. If artists in a non-denominational country can be attacked for execution their freedom of thought, then we have a significant problem. Those artists not only had the legal right to publish what they did, they had the moral right as well. To depict the image of Mohammed is forbidden to Muslims, not the greater global population. Extremism is extremism and there is no ifs or buts. Killing people in the name of a religion is inexcusable no matter the situation. Victim-blaming only gives the terrorists the desired effect; legitimacy of their beliefs.
Not so soon after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, there was another calculated attack by one of the suspects on a supermarket in Paris. HyperCacher is a Kosher market in a predominantly Jewish district of Paris. The terrorist was aware that many people would be shopping that Friday for their Shabbos Meal. Saturday is a holy day to the Jewish people; it is observed as a day of rest with family and friends to honor God's creation. Since observant Jews cannot handle money or cook on Shabbos, the Friday Evening meal is a special affair where people bring in the holy day with their loved ones. Four men were killed last Friday simply because they were Jewish. Their families will never see them again and will have to deal with the fact that they are just as vulnerable. These men didn't taint the name of the Muslim Prophet, but to extremists killing them was valid simply because they were Jews. For the first time since the Annexation of Paris by Hitler's Reich the Grand Synagogue was closed. The systemic anti-semetism not only lies in extremists; a BBC reporter criticized a Parisian Jew for protesting the massacre stating that, "Kind of like what you do to the Palestinians." Neither are one and the same. The misguided notion that Jews or Israel as a whole or at all want innocent Palestinians dead simply because is horrific. The newest wave of anti-semetism is disguised as anti-zionism. When the journalists were killed many were quick to support them here in the United States, I can say that I've seen the same for the four innocent men who were killed grocery shopping. I've lived in a war zone, I've been a witness to the horrors of Islamic Terrorism and I can say no terrorism, no matter the guise or "reason" is excusable because to extremists the notion of our Western Civilization is something to destroy. And we will not let them. We will not allow organizations by the like of Boko Haram, Al-Quada, Hamas, or ISIS to take away our freedoms and values, the minute we rationalize their actions is the minute we lose Western Civilization.
JE SUIS CHARLIE
JE SUIS JUIVE
JE SUIS MUSULMANE
I do not in any way agree with much of the material published by Hebdo, in fact my faith has been one of its targets. But it's satire, satire is critique-based humor that plays off of current affairs and political/religious motifs to create controversy and laughs. I get that fully, and I appreciate that we can life in a western world where journalists can critique political and religious figures without interception from the government. We value freedom of the press and freedom of speech in countries like France, Israel, and the United States to name a few. If artists in a non-denominational country can be attacked for execution their freedom of thought, then we have a significant problem. Those artists not only had the legal right to publish what they did, they had the moral right as well. To depict the image of Mohammed is forbidden to Muslims, not the greater global population. Extremism is extremism and there is no ifs or buts. Killing people in the name of a religion is inexcusable no matter the situation. Victim-blaming only gives the terrorists the desired effect; legitimacy of their beliefs.
Not so soon after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, there was another calculated attack by one of the suspects on a supermarket in Paris. HyperCacher is a Kosher market in a predominantly Jewish district of Paris. The terrorist was aware that many people would be shopping that Friday for their Shabbos Meal. Saturday is a holy day to the Jewish people; it is observed as a day of rest with family and friends to honor God's creation. Since observant Jews cannot handle money or cook on Shabbos, the Friday Evening meal is a special affair where people bring in the holy day with their loved ones. Four men were killed last Friday simply because they were Jewish. Their families will never see them again and will have to deal with the fact that they are just as vulnerable. These men didn't taint the name of the Muslim Prophet, but to extremists killing them was valid simply because they were Jews. For the first time since the Annexation of Paris by Hitler's Reich the Grand Synagogue was closed. The systemic anti-semetism not only lies in extremists; a BBC reporter criticized a Parisian Jew for protesting the massacre stating that, "Kind of like what you do to the Palestinians." Neither are one and the same. The misguided notion that Jews or Israel as a whole or at all want innocent Palestinians dead simply because is horrific. The newest wave of anti-semetism is disguised as anti-zionism. When the journalists were killed many were quick to support them here in the United States, I can say that I've seen the same for the four innocent men who were killed grocery shopping. I've lived in a war zone, I've been a witness to the horrors of Islamic Terrorism and I can say no terrorism, no matter the guise or "reason" is excusable because to extremists the notion of our Western Civilization is something to destroy. And we will not let them. We will not allow organizations by the like of Boko Haram, Al-Quada, Hamas, or ISIS to take away our freedoms and values, the minute we rationalize their actions is the minute we lose Western Civilization.
JE SUIS CHARLIE
JE SUIS JUIVE
JE SUIS MUSULMANE
Thursday, November 20, 2014
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