One last word about Charlie

My mother said something to me today that challenged me. After the attack, I put up a "I am Charlie" sign on the back of my car.

She said: If a Muslim sees your "I am Charlie" sign, they may understand it as "I support those who offend Muslims by mocking their prophet".

I had that sign up as a way of saying murdering people over a cartoon (over anything, really) is unacceptable. I did not mean it as a way to provoke anger. Muslims on the whole may decry the acts of terrorists, yet I can perfectly understand that they are feeling offended, indeed provoked. The latest Charlie Hebdo cover looked peaceful to me - Muhammad saying, "all is forgiven" while holding a "I am Charlie" sign seems like extending an olive branch, does it not?

Not if you are a Muslims and you believe it is insulting to draw a caricature of your prophet, a most beloved and revered figure. In that case, it feels like adding fuel to the fire. It does not mean you will take up arms against France, but it will not incite your goodwill.

Moreover, Charb, Charlie Hebdo's murdered editor, reportedly said he wanted "all religions to be kicked out of France"(1). That is not a peaceful or accepting discourse either. It denies other people's freedom of religion, which is ironic from someone who has become an icon of civil liberties. Being brutally murdered by terrorists does not make anyone a saint, even if it is tragic and horrifying.
.
So I took down my "I am Charlie" sign.

I wish I could have sign up that says, "I am on the side of anyone who is oppressed in any way, be it because of their opinions, their religion, their nationality, their gender, their sexual orientation or their ethnicity. I am on the side of peace and I am against all forms of violence".

But that would be a bit long for a bumper sticker.

---------------------------------

(1) I read it yesterday in a Belgian magazine, and this article in Belgian newspaper Le Soir alludes to the statement too: http://www.lesoir.be/754485/article/actualite/belgique/2015-01-10/caricaturistes-kroll-vadot-bertrand-ce-qui-s-est-passe-reveille-consciences