They are criminal murderers who believe that free speech should not be allowed unless it follows the warped view of the al-Qaeda movement. Reports here suggest that they are French, and are following a line of three other attacks over the past month. There have been a number of thwarted incidents recently, but it must be almost impossible to stop every single plot. The getaway car was found very quickly on the outskirts of Paris, but as yet the men are still being sought. No matter what the magazine published, and there was content that I would not have, it cannot be right in this modern world to carry out this sort of revenge.
"If the rise of Isil has taught the world one thing, it is that the provocation is beside the point. Jihadists kill because that is what they do. It does not matter if you are a French cartoonist or a Yezidi child, or an aid worker or journalist: if you are not one of the chosen few, you are fair game. Provocation is merely an excuse used by bullies to justify their actions, while ensuring the world bows to their will." Padraig Reidy is the former senior writer with the Index on Censorship
Truly appalling, what is the world coming to that someone feels so offended by a cartoon that they have to violently murder? It is beyond my comprehension. What we need to ensure is that the reaction is measured and aligned. We should all show our solidarity with our hard won freedoms and not stoop to their level - however those prosecuted should receive the highest possible punishment. My thoughts are with those who gave directed suffered and my heart is with those holding vigil in Paris and the other cities in France and in Europe.
Wrong isn't it. Longer it goes on, more chance they'll have escaped the jaine damn (yes, that is my attempt to say police in French, ) too!!
Do the people who did this think they will win support from anyone new? Only their idiot colleagues will cheer what they have done, for everyone else this is revolting.
One of the things I find most disappointing about Islam is the failure of its leadership. If these atrocities had been perpetrated by Christians I would hope that the Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury etc would roundly condemn the acts. I do not know if I miss it or if it is simply not reported but I do not see Imams standing up and pointing out that the actions are against everything a truly devout Muslim should believe, are not following the Koran and are simply ungodly and evil. We all understand there are violent thugs who hide under the cloak of every religion but unless those at the top make a big issue to condemn the actions then it leaves the man in the street hating the religion rather than the evil thugs
So every time a criminal is Christian the Pope should apologise? The 'man in the street' only hates the religion due to prejudice, ignorance and/or the constant fearmongering by the media. Imams and Muslim communities everywhere don't have to condemn and/or apologise for every international terror attack. Most do anyway.
Leo, many Moslems have condemned these actions but I think that their criticism has not been reported in the West. There is a fundamental difference between Koran only Moslems and those who give the Hadith or Sunni equal footing. 95% of the Sharia laws are man made and come from the Hadith (written 200 years after the Koran) - In the Koran itself Jihad is referred to only as an inner struggle towards perfection and the words 'holy' and 'war' are never used together. Acording to the Koran religion can never be accompanied by compulsion - and Christians and Jews are referred to as 'brothers of the book'. Also the position of women is very different in the Koran (compared to the Sharia). Most Moslems have never read the Koran in its entirety - if they had they would know that it is absolutely required that the reader should understand what he is reading - therefore the Salafist claims that only recitation is required (and not understanding) are totally un islamic. The problem is that until Moslems Worldwide are literate, until they are all able to read and study the Koran for themselves, until they realize that this book is the only source of Islamic teaching, then all Moslems will be proclaiming themselves to be the only true Moslems. One the one hand it is one of the potential strengths of Islam that it does not have the same hierarchical structures as Christianity, one the other there is no central figure who has the power to condemn in the name of all Moslems. But you are wrong in your assessment of Christianity because no religion has killed more people in the name of God than they have - and most of the Popes or Archbishops either remained silent or supported those acts.
Good post Toby - however Leo is right in that if killing is done in the name of religion then religious voices must be raised in protest. Was eg. the Vatican incriminated because of their lack of opposition to the Nazis ? The Nazis were, theoretically, Christians, so does the Catholic Church share in their guilt ?
What a strange interpretation you always place on my words Toby - did I harm you in a past life that you always attack what I say and twist and distort my words, For a start I did not say "apologise" but condemn, Also we are not talking about "every criminal" This thread is about mass murder and yes -if a band of Christian thugs had done this I would expect the Pope as head of a major branch of Christianity to condemn it and point out that it did not follow Christianity. What else are leaders for if not to lead by example and instruction? I am not sure most "men in the street" do hate religion and I am certain you have no expertise on why "the man in the street hates religion due to prejudice, ignorance or the media". Are you an expert here? Has the media made this story up? My point was simply that if the leaders of religion do not condemn atrocities committed by people pretending to act in the name of that religion they are failing in their duty to lead and educate and remind people that these are ignorant thugs not true Muslims Finally, yes I do think all religious leaders - not just Imams - do have to condemn evil and mass murder. You say most do - have you any evidence for that because as I said in my post I may have missed it or it may have been unreported. Now grow up Toby - you and I had a spat back in 2012 together with Dan Starkey - he and I have moved on and it is about time you did the same. I get fed up with you attacking my posts with stupid twisted comments - put me on your ignore list if you still do not like me - I wont lose any sleep over it.
Cologne, I do not pretend to have your knowledge of Islam or the Koran nor probably any other religion. However I am not making any point about those except in a naive assumption that no major religion supports murder of innocent people, nor acts of terrorism. My point is simple and more generic - the head of any organisation should condemn an act that is contrary to their rules - I would expect Watford to condemn the actions of Deeney - and they did. Of course I am not as stupid as Toby would like to have you believe and do not expect the Pope to condemn a child for stealing a bottle of coke - we are on major crime and terrorism here. I would have expected the Catholic Church to condemn the Nazis though. I would like to see a vociferous and well pubicised condemnation on the events in Paris by senior Muslims
You've just accused me of something then done exactly the same thing to me? I didn't attack you, or distort your words, yet you've just completely misunderstood what I posted. Also, I don't think I've quoted anything you've said in months if not years, how can you be 'fed up with it'? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-...-paris-attack-some-warn-against-backlash.html Just one of the many, many articles of this type that appear after every single terrorist attack that the perpetrators claim to be in the name of religion. It's far from buried, Google is your friend Now I hate religion in all its forms more than most people, but these people are not muslims, they're crazy people that use religion as an excuse to kill people. The media love the scare-articles, the 'Terror alert has been raised' headlines, the world is a lot less scary and dangerous than the image we're given of it...
To be honest we'd be better off without any of it, but unfortunately humans are creatures of habit. I personally think that the constant labelling of acts as of 'a religious nature' is creating a lot more damage than people think, look at UKIP now and far-right movements all over Europe. The media has to take a lot of blame for this, as in their desperate quest for ratings and shock-content, a lot of people now have distorted views of Islam and how most Muslims interpret it in the Western world. They can claim to act in the name of anything they choose, they were crazy people. It's just sad that the victims were unfortunate enough to be their target, but we will never be able to stop random attacks against civilians, in the name of religion or not.
