Why the CBC will not broadcast Charlie Hebdo cartoons

The CBC's David Studer explains the CBC's decision not to broadcast the controversial cartoons, a decision that many viewers have criticized in the wake of the shooting deaths at Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris.

STATEMENT - GOLD COAST ISLAMIC SOCIETY

By Imam Imraan Husain
 

The Qur’an says to the Prophet Muhammad, God’s peace and blessings be upon him, “It is a mercy from your Lord that you are so gentle toward them. If you had been harsh and hard-hearted, people would have fled from your presence” (3:159).
 

The murder of innocent people in Charlie Hebdo, France, is barbaric, criminal, sinful, inhumane, disgusting and contravenes the teachings of Islam as agreed upon by Muslim scholars.
 

This criminality and barbarism does not represent Muslims or Islam.
 

Such evil behaviour is nothing short of crimes against innocent people by some overzealous Muslims who are bereft of mercy.
 

There is no disagreement among Muslims scholars and jurists, past and present, regarding the prohibition of the killing of innocent people. This is not an opinion that is subject to disagreement and anyone who contravenes this law has committed a grave sin and broken the sacred and secular laws.
 

This criminal conduct is based upon some misguided adherence to the teachings of Islam, and the Gold Coast Islamic Society condemns it in the strongest possible terms.
 

We must also take cognisance that provoking people by disrespecting and insulting peoples' beliefs and values is blasphemy. And even for those who believe that the penalty for blasphemy should be death: by unanimous consensus of ALL the scholars of Islam, this must take place after a legitimate trial, by a qualified judge, appointed by a legitimate Islamic state. Under NO circumstances does Islam allow vigilante justice, for to open this door leads to chaos, confusion and bloodshed.
 

We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of the victims and pray for them.

Muslims Around The World Condemn Charlie Hebdo Attack
 

Muslims in France and around the world banded together on Wednesday to strongly condemn the deadliest terror attack the country has seen in the past two decades.

Three masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine that has become notorious for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. One of the men reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar” as they unleashed a barrage of bullets that left at least twelve dead.

Muslim leaders and activists immediately denounced the terrorists actions, reiterating the verse in the Quran that tells Muslims when one kills just one innocent person, it is as if he has killed all of humanity.

The Grand Mosque of Paris, one of the largest in France, issued a statement on its website shortly after the attacks, saying its community was "shocked" and "horrified" by the violence.
 

We strongly condemn these kind of acts and we expect the authorities to take the most appropriate measures. Our community is stunned by what just happened. It’s a whole section of our democracy that is seriously affected. This is a deafening declaration of war. Times have changed, and we are now entering a new era of confrontation.

The Union of Islamic Organizations of France also responded on its website, writing:

KEEP READING : Huffington Post

#JeSuisAhmed Reminds Us That A French Muslim Died To Protect Free Speech
 

On the heels of #JeSuisCharlie, another Twitter hashtag is becoming a rallying point on social media for those mourning the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack -- #JeSuisAhmed.

The hashtag memorializes Ahmed Merabet, the 42-year-old police officer who was shot point blank on a Parisian street by masked gunmen outside Charlie Hebdo’s offices. He was among 12 people who lost their lives in what is being called the deadliest terror attack on French soil in more than 50 years.

French authorities have yet to assign an official motive to the group but many say the attack was an extremist reaction to the magazine’s lampooning of the Prophet Muhammad and other religious figures.

In the aftermath, hundreds around the globe began tweeting out with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie to stand in solidarity with the magazine.

KEEP READING : Huffington Post

This is a war on all of us, Muslims included

Attacks like the one in Paris are a matter of great sorrow for Muslims - first because the radicals use a barbaric appropriation of their faith, and then because of the alienation they feel in the West, writes Mohammed El-leissy.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims around the world and overwhelmingly they feel a sense of deep reverence for the Prophet Muhammad. He's a messenger from God who brought order and justice to a world in chaos; a light and teacher worthy of our undying honour and respect.

However, despite the attacks and mockery of his image across a number of media - most notably on social media and by prominent politicians - few Muslims would feel that the events in France are cause for any celebration or victory.

This is party because most Muslims feel the response by the gunmen is an assault on Muhammad and what he stood for. After all, Muhammad told his followers, "He who does not show mercy to our young and honour our elderly is not from amongst us" and proclaimed, "I was sent to complete the goodness of character".

The gunmen represent a barbaric political appropriation of this, and of a faith that is a source of spirituality and goodness for more than a billion people around the world. They are the greatest destroyers of Muhammad's message and the Islamic religion, in many cases causing Muslims to turn away from their faith.

Following the siege in Sydney, I was approached by a young Muslim woman who was beginning to question the existence of God, disheartened at just how extreme these fringe elements of her faith had become. Thanks to Haron Monis, she now felt disconnected from any positive role Islam had played in her life. The terrorists had soured Islam for her and the value of religion for millions more.

In addition, few Muslims would share any sympathy for the radicals, such as those who launched the attack on Charlie Hebdo, because they often commit far worse and more frequent violence against other Muslims.

Less than 24 hours before the attack in France, Islamist suicide bombers killed 38 Muslims outside a police academy in Yemen. In the Islamic world, hardline Islamist violence is seen as a criminal issue and terrorists are hunted down and often killed by police. Civilians that join the police force are frequently labelled as traitors and sell-outs to the Jihad by the extremists and police recruiting centres are a common target for suicide bombings.

Because Muslims worldwide are rejecting attempts by IS, Boko Haram and Al Qaeda to hijack Islam, these groups have turned their guns on fellow Muslims substantially more than on the West. From Pakistan to Nigeria, it's Muslim souls that the extremists are targeting.

However in the West, commentary in the media continues to accuse the world's Muslims of not condemning or doing enough to stop the terror and thus being complicit in violent jihad. This misinformed worldview simplistically pits this as Islam v the West, ignoring the despotic nature of this enemy and the fact that these extremists first and foremost wish to tyrannise and control their fellow Muslims.

For many Muslims, the Western media treats Muslim lives as somewhat less significant. The attacks in France received rolling coverage, but the attack in Yemen that killed many Muslim would-be policemen was relegated to the "World News" section. The Muslim victims are rarely given a face.

Similarly, the participation of Muslim majority nations in the coalition fighting Islamic State doesn't receive as much coverage as the efforts of the West. It's hard for the media to frame that war as a fight between "good and evil" when both sides are Muslim.

When non-Muslims are killed by radical Islamists, we talk about a clash of civilisations and ask "are Islam and the West compatible?" When Muslims are killed, we rationalise it as just stereotypical violence taking place in the third world.

This is not a war between Islamic and Western values - it's a war against a puritanical worldview that enforces itself with violence on the rest of us.

And Muslims have been fighting Islamic State with the pen as well as the sword - on the level of language, satire and ideas.

Many Muslims refuse to honour the terrorists with either the word "Islamic" or "state" and use instead a derogatory acronym, "DAESH". State of Superstition is an Iraqi TV sitcom that has the group firmly in its sights. And in Jordan the Orwellian sounding "Office of Mosque Surveillance" has outreach workers engaging with clergy to defeat IS with words and theology rather than bullets.

The majority of peaceful Muslims are caught in a tight wedge - the radicals know their actions will inflame anti-Muslim tensions and isolate many Muslims living in the West and hopefully push a few to their side. But as the West becomes more nuanced in its response and Muslims are finding their voice against Islamic State, there's a real hope that together we can deprive them of the blood bath they so desperately crave.

Mohammed El-leissy is a Melbourne-based community worker, comedian, and former youth worker at the Islamic Council of Victoria. View his full profile here.