Sir, – The principles of liberté, égalité and fraternité which guide France and, in essence, the societies of all civilised nations cannot, and do not, exist in a vacuum.
They must be assiduously guarded and fought for when and where necessary.
Religious or ideological fanaticism either egregiously condones or actively perpetrates terrorist attacks.
Such fanatics all the while lambast the societies in which they live for lack of tolerance, understanding and acceptance of ideas and practices which trample on the cherished and hard-won rights and freedoms of most western countries. Such double standards must be identified again and again and be vigorously and consistently repudiated in word and action by politics and civil society at all levels.
Intolerance cannot be countered with tolerance.
All the wishful thinking, handwringing and misguided Kumbaya sentiment will not change this simple fact. – Yours, etc,
PATRICIA MULKEEN,
Ballinfull,
Sligo.
Sir, – The horrific murders in Paris must be roundly condemned. It should be possible to criticise and satirise both public figures and ideology without such actions from young men, alienated and angry as they may be.
It is equally important that the response to the attacks does not lead either to an increase in future terrorist attacks or a rise in attacks on Muslims.
Hatred and revenge are not the answer to the grief that the relatives of the victims are experiencing.
The French government could lead effectively in calming the widespread public anger and grief by reflecting on its own dubious foreign policy, which along with that of other western powers has fostered instability, sectarianism, oppression and hundreds of thousands of Muslims killed and injured, all of which has ultimately led to a rise in terrorism. We should remember that the response of the French government to the brutal suppression by Tunisian dictator Ben Ali to the calls for democracy by peaceful protesters was to offer to send 300 French paratroopers.
Serious reflection and positive actions on foreign policy by the French government would be the best response at this tragic time. – Yours, etc,
JIM ROCHE,
Irish Anti-War Movement,
PO Box 9260,
Dublin 1.
Sir, – I have little doubt that the horrific murder of Charlie Hebdo staff and the two police officers will leave a small but deranged number of Islamists rubbing their hands in delight. But let us take a deep breath before falling into their trap, where hatred, not love, dominates their souls.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims are ordinary decent people who just want to get on with their lives.
Like the Irish living in Britain during the IRA bombing campaign, undoubtedly they too feel under threat and suspicion.
Ironically, it may be Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front that benefits from this atrocity. Who knows, perhaps that was one of the terrorists’ objectives – to drive a large wedge between ordinary Muslims and the wider community. There will always be terrorism in the world, but to minimise the threat of Islamic terrorism, both Muslims and wider society need to pull together towards the common good by fighting radicalisation. – Yours, etc,
JOHN BELLEW,
Dunleer,
Co Louth.
Sir, – Can we please have no self-hating apologies for the people who committed this act? The journalists who work for the magazine are entitled to poke fun at, ridicule and insult whomever they want. The hard-won freedoms which we wish to continue to enjoy are dependant on press freedom and the scrutiny of even the most satirical wags.
We must not fall victim to sham moral equivalency. An anti-enlightenment death cult has little to do with Islam but reflects a fascistic desire to undermine and destroy democracy. It cannot be appeased. – Yours, etc,
MACK LENNON,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.
Sir , – Yesterday’s cartoon by Martyn Turner demonstrated how all cartoonists must be free to bring a smile or a thought to our lives despite such horrendous intimidation from extremist groups. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL STOREY,
Glencar,
Sligo.
Sir, – As a Muslim, I strongly condemn the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo and those who perpetrated it.
These terrorists do not represent me nor do they represent Islam. Their wicked ideology is an existential threat to Islam itself.
Part of the problem is that these extremists and Islamophobes – responsible for burning mosques and attacking women wearing hijab – need each other in order to exist. We, the majority of ordinary people of every faith, race and colour, should stand together to these extremists and say enough is enough. – Yours, etc,
MOHAMMED SAMAANA,
Belfast.
Sir, – Almost every media organisation in the world will roundly condemn the Paris massacre and rant on about “free speech” but very few will take any action to negate the terrorists’ goals. All media organisations should immediately start publishing the “offending” cartoons. Otherwise the terrorists will win. – Yours, etc,
DICK KEANE,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Two crucial values for the future of the French republic were attacked. First, our freedom of speech as enshrined since 1789 in our Declaration of Human Rights.
According to article 11, “Free communication of thoughts and opinions is the most precious human right”.
It is interesting to see the debates that have arisen about the definition of “freedom of speech”, what it allows, what should or should not be said. Many people consider that decency, kindness or respect should be the limitations to freedom of speech.
To me, this makes no sense. These are extremely subjective values. The offence of blasphemy was abolished in 1791 in France. There must be no qualification of freedom of speech except by law.
Once we enter the debate of respect and decency, we curtail and chip away at this fundamental right. Whatever opinion or belief French law does not ban is allowed to be expressed no matter whether it is provocative, unpopular or offensive to a majority or a minority.
If you do not approve of this opinion, if it makes you uncomfortable, you have the choice to reply, express your own opinion or ignore the newspaper with which you disagree. This is freedom, freedom of expression, freedom to debate.
The 12 people who died on January 7th died for this freedom.
The second value that was attacked yesterday is that of fraternity, the idea that Muslim and non-Muslim French citizens can live together. France is at a dangerous crossroads. It is on the brink of choking on its fears of “the other” as manipulated by fundamentalists rather than sticking by its republican values and standing strong.
Politicians sensed the immense danger yesterday. President François Hollande and former Nicolas Sarkozy were exemplary in their condemnation of the barbaric act and their appeal to calm and cohesion, while not mentioning once the name of Islam so as not to stigmatise it.
Now is not the time to call for a reinstatement of death penalty, as Marine Le Pen is doing. Now is not the time to fuel fear, anger and hatred. The French republic needs to remain strong on its values of fraternity, solidarity, freedom and acceptance while engaging in an open and intellectually honest debate on the place of Islam in the republic.
The temptation to amalgamate Muslims and Islamic fundamentalists is very strong among French people. The climate of Islamophobia has never been more palpable.
And it is spreading across Europe. Look at Germany and the anti-Islam demonstrations taking place on a weekly basis in Dresden. Look at Sweden and the attacks against four mosques since October 2014. Fear of Islam and how it fits in our western societies cannot be denied.
This is enhanced by xenophobic and inward-looking political parties that play with our fears for their political benefit. Our duty as republicans is to answer those fears in a respectful, inclusive and democratic way. Democracy is genuinely at stake.
If we do not fight for our values of freedom and fraternity, we might as well have killed those journalists ourselves. – Yours, etc,
Dr EMMANUELLE
SCHÖN-QUINLIVAN,
Department of Government,
University College Cork.