Last week’s attack at Charlie Hebdo’s Paris headquarters was a barbaric attempt by Islamic extremists to censor the freedom of speech enjoyed by much of the Western world. France’s response must be clear: censorship is not an option.
Restricting free expression at this point, as the French government did when it banned pro-Palestine protests on January 18, is akin to letting al-Qaida extremists get their way.
That being said, it is important to note that the Charlie Hebdo gunmen were, indeed, extremists. Their views in no way represented the way that the majority of the world’s approximately 1.57 billion Muslims interpret their faith.
To appropriate the classic American phrase: “Islam doesn’t kill people, people kill people.”
Sadly, the Charlie Hebdo shootings come during a time in which anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise both in Europe and the United States. Islamophobia in the U.S. comes from both sides of the aisle-liberal television host Bill Maher is known for his diatribes on the supposed inherent violence of Islam, while Fox News pundits are infamous for their sensationalist views on the religion.
These people seem to forget centuries of atrocities committed by Christian extremists: the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the colonization of the Americas, not to mention the innumerable wars fought between Catholics and Protestants.
We must learn to separate Islam from the acts of terrorists, just as we have done with Christianity. If we allow our feelings about Islam to be dictated by a barbarous few rather than a peaceful majority, then the extremists are winning.
Alex Mendoza is a 22 year old political science and international studies senior from Baton Rouge, LA. You can reach him on twitter @alexmendoza_TDR.