THE philosophies editorialised in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper’s, largely extrapolated from Rohan Singh’s excellent letter on the theme of societal influences that condition the workings of the mind, seem portentous of the catastrophic occurrences that were emblazoned in the headlines of this newspaper; and of Media the world over.Three French nationals, including two brothers from the Paris region, are being hunted by police after, according to the news report, “… suspected Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at a satirical magazine on Wednesday… The hooded attackers stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a weekly known for lampooning Islam and other religions, in the most deadly militant attack on French soil in decades.”
The tragedy was avoidable, because Islam is a supposed to be religion of peace. However, the jihad that extremists interpret to mean extermination of those whom they surmise have blasphemed against their religion means the exact opposite – killing the evil within one’s own soul. Destruction of survival systems and murder and mutilation of one’s fellow man can in no way be the Lord’s intended message in His holy books.
Conversely, freedom of the press comes with great responsibility; and infringing on the rights of others should not be tolerated within the construct of any civilised society.
Persistent lampooning the religious sentiments of others should never be tolerated in any country; and there should be requisite laws to prohibit the publication of such material. Nevertheless, to take the lives of one’s fellow humans as a retaliatory measure contravenes the doctrines of any religion.
Journalists and Media workers are very susceptible to persecution – and prosecution; and it is advisable to use the laws governing society to prosecute rather than persecute.
The news report stated that, “…French police staged a huge manhunt for the attackers who escaped by car after shooting dead some of France’s top cartoonists as well as two police officers. About 800 soldiers were brought in to shore up security across the capital. Police issued a document to Forces across the region saying the three men were being sought for murder in relation to the Charlie Hebdo attack. The document, reviewed by a Reuters correspondent, named them as Said Kouachi, born in 1980, Cherif Kouachi, born in 1982, and Hamyd Mourad, born in 1996.”
Hamyd Mourad has since turned himself in, French Police confirmed.
These are relatively young men, probably with families who will in turn be devastated and victimized because of their shockingly barbaric actions: And one can only imagine the devastation that will be wrought in the lives of the families of the victims.
Reportedly, according to the news report, which stated: “During the attack, one of the assailants was captured on video outside the building shouting “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) as shots rang out. Another walked over to a police officer lying wounded on the street and shot him point-blank with an assault rifle, before the two calmly climbed into a black car and drove off. A police union official said there were fears of further attacks, and described the scene in the offices as carnage, with a further four wounded fighting for their lives.”
Of course God, in whatever name we call him, is the greatest; and His greatness lies in His mercy to the human family. How then is it acceptable that anyone can create carnage and devastation in His name?
The repercussions would be felt in very tragic ways and some Parisians have reportedly expressed fears about the effect of the attack on community relations in France, which has Europe’s biggest Muslim population.
Quoting from the report, “This is bad for everyone – particularly for Muslims despite the fact that Islam is a fine religion. It risks making a bad situation worse,” Cecile Electon, an arts worker who described herself as an atheist, told Reuters at a vigil on Paris’s Place de la Republique attended by 35,000 people.
In Guyana, the perennial irresponsible attacks on public figures by private media houses have drawn sharp criticisms from both victims and the public at large; and one public official was driven to warn that a particular newspaper was impugning people’s character at will, with no evidence of wrongdoing by their victim and there could be serious consequences if the publisher and his editor-in-chief did not desist, because someone may very well take the law into their own hands – vigilante style, because that particular publisher and editor-in-chief seem untouchable by the law.
While it is wrong to suppress freedom of expression, it is doubly wrong to take the lives of one’s fellow humans instead of pursuing justice in the laws of the land.
Freedom of expression must be exercised responsibly or the consequences could prove dire. The murderous attack in Paris is a case in point.