Tag: France Terror Attack

‘France Has Ridiculed, Provoked Muslims – Repeatedly’

By LokMarg

Saif Ali Lawman, 23, a Law student from Lucknow, says freedom of speech is not absolute, it comes with certain caveats. Lawman believes France must learn secularism and co-existence from India

Depicting Prophet Muhammad’s image comes under blasphemy and it has been so right from the beginning. Western countries need to understand that you cannot challenge 1400 years of belief with provocation, repeatedly. As a law student, I seriously believe that neither is blasphemy right, nor is killing someone in the name of blasphemy.

British colonialism is talked about a lot but French colonialism rarely finds much mention. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe and a large part of that population has its roots in Tunisia and Algeria, former French colonies that struggled for independence. Many are also unaware of the Levant Crisis that took place in 1945, soon after World War II where many west Asian countries like Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria were caught between the French and the British. In short, France has a history of fraught relations with the Levant countries.

Why I am mentioning all this is because I want that the French government should look inwards if it really wants to resolve the matter, so that everyone can live in peace. It should work towards understanding the problem of immigrants and those who have lived for many years in France and yet don’t feel accepted by society.

ALSO READ: ‘Neither French Beheading Justified, Nor Provocation’

France claims to be a secular country, but secularism doesn’t mean washing away or repressing identities; it stands for assimilating various identities in a harmonious blend.

Saif does not believe France is a secular country

I feel sad about the teacher Samuel Paty who was beheaded last month, but I would say the French authorities are as rigid about their points of view as those they believe to be Islamists are. I always marvel at the way our country has managed to assimilate diverse identities and walk together for so long. We respect each other’s boundaries here, barring a few exceptions of course. We understand that the right to extend one’s arm ends where the other person’s nose begins.

Before 2014, my Muslim identity was just a lens I chose to view life from. Even though post 2014, certain things have changed, yet I would say things aren’t as bad as they are in Western countries. Western countries have tried to use law to foster secularism, but haven’t given as much importance to social cohesion and emotional cohesion as India does. We have a much larger population than many western countries, yet we manage more or less to maintain harmony.

ALSO READ: Charlie Hebdo And Laxman Rekha

France needs to bring in strict laws to counter those who believe in violence but it also needs to make sure that it doesn’t play with religious sentiments of minority faiths. Ek bade pariwar me khat pat chalti rehti hai, par agar shuruat me hi uspe dhyan diya jaye to cheezein zyada bigadti nahi (A large family bears disagreements often. If the issues are nipped in the bud, it ensures peace at home).

I believe France isn’t a secular country at all, but an orthodox country and it needs to understand the true meaning of secularism from countries such as India.

Recently when a Muslim woman broke Ganesha idols in Bahrain, she was swiftly handed over to the police. Muslim countries have a bad reputation but if France truly understood the meaning of secularism, it would question the people at Charlie Hebdo too. Freedom of speech is not absolute, it comes with certain caveats.

How to Peacefully Co-Exist in a Plural Society

‘Neither French Beheading, Nor Provocation Is Justified’

By LokMarg

Mufti Mohammad Israfil, 52, says France must learn from India how to peacefully co-exist in a plural society. The Mufti from Kanpur, UP, also believes that state and religion must remain separated

What happened in France last month was abominable, from both sides, though as President, Mr Emmanuel Macron should have handled the matter with some cool-headedness and grace, as is expected from top leaders, instead of making this an emotional issue.

I still remember the first time the image of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was published in the Danish newspaper, Jyllanden Post in 2005. It was a provocation then, and it was a provocation when Charlie Hebdo published it. Provocation is neither journalism, nor art. Cartoons are meant to give food for thought, not hurt a popular sentiment.

We in India, before 2014, knew how to not cross one another’s boundaries. Different religions have co-existed peacefully for a long time here. Perhaps the world could learn from the pre-2014 India on how not to cross the line.

Religion is fluid –or at least its interpretation is fluid, while government is a stable structure in the sense that even a single change needs to pass through multiple bodies. Common people keeps moving between the two in their public and private spheres. Governance and religion must remain separated. I do feel unhappy about the people running Charlie Hebdo or other similar provocative publications; and I feel equally miffed when artists like MF Hussain take the liberty of drawing the objectionable images of Hindu gods and goddesses. It takes so much time to understand your own religion, how can you make fun of another religion that you don’t even understand?

ALSO READ: Charlie Hebdo And Laxman Rekha

Samuel Paty, the teacher who was killed, needed to understand that it was a contentious topic he was teaching. And as far as I have read, the matter had been stretching on for some time with the school authorities.

The Mufti from Kanpur says none of the party is entirely blameless in France’s case

Strict legal action should be taken against those guilty, but the government also needs to ensure that age-appropriate topics are introduced in the correct manner. Even wise men in government offices have been unable to solve such issue, as was seen in the Denmark case. Therefore with children, we require extra care in dealing cross-cultural issues. I am not justifying what happened, but none of the party is entirely innocent.

Islam was perhaps the first religion to bring law into social dealings. Many other religions might have had laws but people were being governed according to the whims and fancies of the kings or heads of state. Islam tried to give powers to the common man and you could say the Quran and Hadees are books of law.

The maulana, mufti, qazi interpret law and serve justice. Islam is never about spreading terror, but about spreading love for yourself, your neighbours, to the less fortunate. I would say ‘religious pollution’ has put important social issues on the backburner. If I were to tell you who is responsible for this atmosphere of ‘dharmik unmad’ (religious hysteria), I would say Israel and the US.

ALSO READ: Agenda To ‘Liberate Islam’ Has A History

As the pandemic has shown us, we are all in this together. We need a world that knows how to come together. In India we have co-existed peacefully, more or less, despite diverse language, food, and clothing with every few kilometre. The world needs to see and learn from us that there is a solution to the situation the world is in today.

Mutual respect is the key in handling sensitive issues. Prophet Mohammed, Jesus, Moses, Krishna are all revered figures and Islam says respect (especially for the leaders of others) is the pillar on which a society stands. I wish there is neither more provocation, nor more bloodshed as a response to that provocation. Restraint is the currency of a peaceful society.