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Charlie Hebdo
January 11, 2015
On January 7th two gunmen broke into the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France and killed twelve people including eight of the papers workers and two police officers. Who would do this? Islamic extremist brothers Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi. The brothers were outraged that Charlie Hebdo printed political cartoons depicting Muhammad, the man Muslims believe was a prophet. Though the Quran does not have anything against drawing Muhammad a Hadith bans all depictions of “The Prophet Muhammad” and Muslims are deeply offended by them.
Muslim extremists bombed the Charlie Hebdo offices in 2011 in attempt to silence the paper and their cartoons but the writers, illustrators, and editors were not deterred. They continued to make themselves heard and refused to let those who use fear as a weapon force them to quit.
The workers at Charlie Hebdo are heroes. They refused to give up the fight against extremism even after they were bombed in 2011 and I doubt they will surrender after these attacks. They died for the principles of freedom and liberty. The remaining workers of Charlie Hebdo will be releasing another issue next month and I think you should find a way to get it and support a newspaper who doesn't back down to terrorists.
© Alisha R., Kannapolis, NC
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This article has 24 comments.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Feb. 2 2015 at 6:35 pm
If you just remove the contradictory statement "that eventually their karma would come back around" then you would finally have a sensible point.
Not true, my friend. If I were being stubborn then I would've stated that the murders were just and the men deserves it. Which I did not. I already said that I will believe they all should've died. And no, being offended does not give you the right to a killing spree. But I can't sympathize with the cartoonist simply because what they posted was crude and offensive and they way before any of this happened that eventually their karma would come back around.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 28 2015 at 8:56 pm
The cartoons were horribly offensive! Muslims had a right to be upset because these monsters insulted the prophet! How dare they? But that doesn't give you the right to kill people. Because the most offensive speech is nowhere near as bad as murder. And by the way you are being equally as stubborn as me so don't act like you came here for a rational debate.
@DjakobUnchained No, I do not thing people who say mean things deserve to die, necessarily. But, I'm not going to sit here and say that these cartoonists didn't have this coming. Because they did. You're narrow minded for not even looking at the other side of the argument and straight away shutting down any opinion that doesn't coincide with yours. I mean, didn't we learn how to address counterarguments in middle school essays? You can't honestly believe that the cartoonists didn't post some offensive things, despite their right to say it. You can tell yourself that these people were wrong for being offended. News flash: People are actually hurt by words. So, no, I don't, nor will I ever agree that the men should've been KILLED, but karma is karma.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 25 2015 at 9:46 pm
Answer this. Do those who say mean words deserve to die?
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 25 2015 at 9:45 pm
How can you call me close minded for believing in the protection of peoples right to speak their minds against those who get so upset by words that they kill people. How can you hold feelings over human lives?
The attacks were provoked by WORDS and drawings of things they hold highly. But, I know I'm not going to change your mind because you're narrow minded and stubborn and that's okay. I hope the best for you in your close minded life. Sarcasm not intended.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 24 2015 at 7:55 pm
The attacks proved that bullets can hurt.
I think everyone in this English speaking world is familiar with that phrase. But that doesn't apply to everyone. You, yes. Words don't hurt you. Clearly you seemed to disregard the rest of what I wrote because words CAN hurt, as so obviously proved by the attacks.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 23 2015 at 3:44 pm
You don't have freedom of action. There are laws preventing you from acting. Do you know why? Because actions can hurt people words can't. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? Are you familiar with the phrase?
No one here's saying they deserved to die, per say. Death, no. No one should DIED necessarily. But, some people (me included) can't say that we're surprised that they were attacked. Because this isn't a surprise at all. As a satirical magazine, you KNOW what you post can provoke violence, it doesn't matter if someone is a fanatic or an extremist or not. They are aware that what they post can deeply offend people, regardless of the right to say it. For crying out loud, the magazine itself is a successor to another French magazine that was BANNED for mocking the death of the former French president. The name Charlie Hebdo itself is an inside joke about the former French president. Unless you have no morals, I can't see how you can find that okay. Freedom of speech doesn't excuse cruel behavior. As a human being, regardless of your right to say what you want, it's common courtesy that you don't disrespect another's culture, religion, or something they hold highly. You just don't. They had the right to say it. But it's still rude, regardless. Now, no, just because you're offended doesn't mean you're allowed to go out killing people. But, remember. With freedom of speech also comes freedom of action.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 20 2015 at 12:24 pm
If you don't know if murder is suitable for speech than you are truly a lost cause. And why do terrorists get to decide who dies and who lives? Religion has no place in politics and government.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 20 2015 at 12:22 pm
Every last point you have made revolve around the infallibility of religion and how we must all bow to the will of crazy people. And you also keep asserting that the Charlie Hebdo workers got what was coming to them but then insisting you don't agree with their murders. You can't have it both ways. And human beings can judge acts of other human beings.
HappyEmeal GOLD said...
on Jan. 20 2015 at 8:14 am
Are you blind? Did I write,"Oh, the Charlie Hebdo dudes offended the al-Qaeda guys and they deserved to die, yay"? I SAID YOU AND I CANNOT JUDGE THE KILLINGS. But committing an unethical, immoral and intolerant act, you do get punished. I will end by stating something that should make sense to you and if it doesn't, you're just thick: If you commit an act that offends a religion that is mostly associated with terrorism, do you really expect them to not react? It's like provoking a cheeta to pounce on you and when it does, you start crying about why it attacked you in the first place. Use your brain, the workers of Charlie Hebdo provoked the taliban to kill them and knew the consequences. You know what? You cannot live in this world relying on your 'freedom of speech' because your morals, ethics and the book of rules will always stand before you and you cannot dismiss any one of them and say 'freedom of speech' is very important. Frankly, the only component of your invalid argument was the mere 'fact' that you may say what you want to. Think twice before you speak, especially when you're only repeating the same thing over and over again, using it as a weak counter.
HappyEmeal GOLD said...
on Jan. 20 2015 at 7:56 am
I never said God killed them. I said only God can take lives and we cannot decide over who should be killed or not, UNLESS THE SITUATION ASKS US TO. You cannot say religion does not matter, because it is the most important thing to an individual. We believe in the UNO and let it take actions and make rules. It so happens that a rule was passed on religious tolerance, and according to that, what the workers of Charlie Hebdo did was wrong and deserved to be punished, but whether the killing was a suitable punishment, I do not know.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 18 2015 at 8:30 pm
I don't understand why you people believe that being offended is grounds for committing murder. You do indeed have the right to offend minorities, the Freedom of Speech is simply that, the freedom of speech. It is not the freedom of nice speech or the freedom of unoffensive speech. It is the Freedom of Speech. I don't care what the pope, the Dalai Llama, or Muhammad himself have to say. Speech is an universal right that is not governed by the will of fanatics or extremists.
DjakobUnchained SILVER said...
on Jan. 18 2015 at 8:23 pm
It doesn't matter what any religion says. Freedom of Speech is a secular right. Words and murder are not even comparable. By not condemning the acts of extremists you are encouraging people to blame all Muslims for the attacks. And by the way god did not kill those people, men killed those people. Men who chose who should live and who should die. The murderers who attacked Charlie Hebdo have proven the weakness of their principles by using force instead of reason.
HappyEmeal GOLD said...
on Jan. 18 2015 at 11:11 am
Look, I am sorry for calling you thick, but I was only upset then. Here's a way for you to understand: Think of a situation where you do not know what is right or what is wrong, but you do. You know killing is bad, and offending is bad, but the circumstances confuse you. It is not that simple. Nothing is. You cannot support someone who has hurt so many people, but you cannot choose someone who commits murder. But when you look at it closely, you see both sides were actually trying to do good, in their own ways. Charlie Hebdo wanted to emphasize on the freedom of speech, and al-Qaeda defended its religion that had been ridiculed. I will only conclude by saying this: it always happens to Muslims. ALWAYS. You may disagree but every single time something big happens in the world, and terrorists get involved, so do Muslims. Whether it's 9/11 or wars or this, Muslims always have to be the bad guys. I am not forcing my opinion on you, but I am asking you to think. Do some research. Not all Muslims are bad, and the attack only took place because the al-Qareda were provoked.
HappyEmeal GOLD said...
on Jan. 18 2015 at 11:03 am
Wow, you are thick. Are you saying minority rights should not be protected? YOU SHOULD NEVER OFFEND SOMEONE'S RELIGION OR FAITH, it's just as it is. If you don't want to listen to a Muslim say this, fine. Go to the Pope, check the Bible. Or any Holy Scripture that exists today. Read them and tell me the place where it specifies that you have the freedom to speech and may offend someone. According to your article, the offices were bombed before too, because the extremists were offended then too. Shouldn't they have learned a lesson and understood that their actions offended someone and they should be more careful? And honestly, even if I was not a Muslim, I would never have supported this "peaceful" magazine. It has offended others also, not only Muslims. What's your religion? Are you a Christian or a Jew or Athiest? That doesn't even matter because I respect your religion and you should return the favor. I cannot and will not say anything against your religion. I cannot say something that will hurt you because that is morally wrong, and my religion does not allow me to do so. What Charlie Hebdo did was provoke the extremists. Every society has a group of extremists that just seem to know more about their faith than the others do, but is not true. I did not say they deserved to die, because I cannot say that. How can I decide over someone's life or death when in fact God gives and takes life? If I am asked about the incident, and if the killing was justified, I give no answer, only that God has the power to give or take lives. It is His decision and we must not intervene. But there are some matters where God has given humans the order to take lives. In this case, I cannot say anything because the matter complicates.
The workers of Charlie Hebdo are heroes.