Charlie Hebdo’s portrayals of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, tested Western European Muslims who reject physical representations of Muhammad. The editors at Charlie Hebdo were aware that their offensive depictions of the prophet Muhammad placed themselves, their journalists and cartoonists at risk, but for the sake of free speech they carried on.
Many Western European Muslims passed the test, just as many Western European Christians pass Charlie Hebdo’s tests when cartoonists at the magazine portray Jesus Christ in offensive, satirical materials. The work of a pencil should never result in bullets from a gun, and Islamism ultimately failed the test.
Commonly known as radical Islam, Islamism is rooted in a diverse combination of Islamic sects. This extremist minority of Islam looks toward a “pure” Islam, setting Islamists at an immediate conflict with Western European countries that covet free speech. Islamism is a threat to the world. Islam is not.
Unlike Bill Maher or Rupert Murdoch, I do not blame the entire Muslim community for the Islamist militants that carried out the terrorist attack in Paris or the militants who carried out previous attacks around the world.
Islamism embedded itself into the minority of the Muslim population around the world, and the result was a cult following extremists. Men and women with hate in their hearts hide behind misinterpretations of the Quran in order to justify their wicked, monstrous atrocities. They are Islamism. They encompass the extremists who react to a drawing with murder. But they are only a minority population in the world.
Blame the evil that festers within the souls of the murderers. Blame the men and women who allow that evil to overcome their lives and dictate every waking moment. However, do not blame the millions of Muslims who look for peace in our world.