WHILE mocking the religion of others is not to be condoned in any civilised society, the massacre of several ‘Charlie Hebdo’ staffers is a heinous act indeed. The fact that it was committed in the name of Islam, a religion that is supposed to be a propagator of peace, brotherhood and charity, is even more dastardly; but out of evil most often cometh good and the joining hands and hearts of the global collective of nations, including world leaders, give hope for the eventual realisation of man’s eternal quest for peace. After the deadly attacks in Paris world leaders joined a mass march in Paris, walking together arm in arm.
According to a Reuters report, the world leaders included Muslim and Jewish statesmen, who “… linked arms to lead an estimated million-plus French citizens through Paris in an unprecedented march under high security to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks. Paris police said the turnout was “without precedent” but too large to count. One organiser said he had indications it could be between 1.3 and 1.5 million people. Some commentators said the last street presence in the capital on this scale was at the Liberation of Paris from Nazi Germany in 1944.”
The report continued: “President Francois Hollande and leaders from Germany, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Britain and the Palestinian territories, among others, moved off from the central Place de la Republique ahead of a sea of French and other flags. Giant letters attached to a statue in the square spelt out the word Pourquoi? (Why?) and small groups sang the ‘La Marseillaise’ national anthem.”
The march was an immediate reflex reaction to what the Reuters report described as “… the worst militant Islamist assault on a European city in nine years. For France, it raised questions of free speech, religion and security, and beyond French frontiers it exposed the vulnerability of states to urban attacks.”
The USA had experienced its 9/11 and other atrocities, and fifty-seven people were killed in an Islamist militant attack on London’s transport system in 2005. India has recurrent bomb blasts and these atrocious acts of terrorists who take innumerable lives and cause wanton destruction are replicated throughout the globe.
In the wake of three days of violence in Paris, seventeen people were wantonly slaughtered. The victims included journalists and police. The attack started with shots being fired at staff members of the satirical weekly publication, ‘Charlie Hebdo’, which is infamous for its satirical attacks on religions, including Islam, and prominent political figures. The murder spree came to an end after three days at a Jewish deli in which four hostages and the gunman were killed.

Recounting events and interviews conducted during the march of solidarity, the Reuters report continued by quoting remarks of some of the participants: “We’re not going to let a little gang of hoodlums run our lives,” said Fanny Appelbaum, 75, who said she lost two sisters and a brother in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz?. “Today, we are all one.”
Zakaria Moumni, a 34-year-old Franco-Moroccan draped in the French flag, agreed: “I am here to show the terrorists they have not won – it is bringing people together of all religions.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi were among 44 foreign leaders marching with Hollande. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu – who earlier encouraged French Jews to emigrate to Israel – and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were also present.
Immediately to Hollande’s left, walked Merkel and to his right Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. France intervened to help fight Islamist rebels there two years ago to the day.
In a rare public display of emotion by two major-power leaders, cameras showed Hollande embracing Merkel, her eyes shut and forehead resting on his cheek, on the steps of the Elysee before they headed off to march.”
The reaction to the emotion of the moment by world leaders and the ordinary people to a tragedy that should not have happened should not be relegated to the media archives.
Instead it should be used as a wake-up call that the entire world is subject to the reign of terror by people who have lost their humanity and have become worse than beasts; and not just Paris, but these arms should be stretching to link the global family into one cohesive unit right across the world, heralding hope for eventual world peace where prayers are not relayed to God by the hands clasping the trigger, but by hands stretched out to the brother across the divide.