Shards of glass

This was on the news yesterday. It seems that some areas of my country (the poorest areas of Brussels, usually - what a surprise...) are a cesspool of Islamic terrosist wannabes...

I couldn't help but weep. It grieves me that people can feel so much rage and hatred that they want to maim and kill. The world seems so full of violence, it's almost unbearable.

How can people be so convinced that some deity wants them to murder their enemies?

The Charlie Hebdo shooters were abandoned as children; the youngest went to prison twice. I don't mean to excuse them in any way, but I don't think people who are at peace with God, themselves and the world become terrorists. Western cities are rife with second or third generation immigrants from the Middle East or further, people who feel torn between two identities and cultures. People who can experience a sense of rejection because of their origins, all the more after terrorist acts. It's only too easy for them to be manipulated into becoming monsters, under the promise of paradise as a reward. Besides, violence and cruelty are one of the facets of human nature, and just like qualities, such dark dispositions can be nurtured to grow and take over someone's heart.

 I wish we could talk some peace and love into them, yet it seems we can't. I believe in "loving your enemies", but if your enemy threatens to destroy again and again and again, and if countless lives are at stake, what do you do? I read a commentator who said that the only thing we can do to stop terrorist attacks is to kill as many terrorists as we can, kill them in the Middle East where they train. Is that really the only answer? Each terrorist is someone's son, someone's brother, someone's friend. Think about that. Those left behind, if they cannot let go and forgive (and how hard is that: forgiving your enemy for killing those you love?), will want to avenge them, and destroy and kill. It never ends.

The cycle of violence grieves me and hurts me.

In The Green Mile, John Coffey, the black prisoner sentenced to death who has the power to heal others, says, "I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There's too much of it. It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time." 

These words resonate with me. Indeed, hatred and hurt and pain feel like shards of glass in my heart.

Sometimes, though, wee see tings that give us hope; like the "I'll walk with you" hashtag, or parents of murdered Israeli and Palestinians comforting one another despite being supposedly from opposite camps. I cling to news like this because I need to believe in hope. I believe in a God who gave his life for humanity's redemption. This, to me, is the cornerstone of hope in a better world. And I believe we are to take part in the healing of the world, each in our own way, no matter how small. I believe that somehow, all hurt will be healed and all tears wiped away. But how about those who refuse reconciliation and forgiveness? Are some people beyond healing, unredeemable? This is what makes me weep.

We need to talk about Charlie

A few days have passed, but I cannot stop thinking about what happened at the office of French magazine Charlie Hebdo. 

I wrote about it in the heat of the moment, yet I feel I need to say more. We all need to think about it, and to discuss the various issues it raises.

We all need to talk about Charlie.

We take freedom of speech for granted. It has been enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. 

Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Emphasis mine). 

Charlie Hebdo journalists and cartoonists oppose racism, the military, religions, and usually the government. They express these opinions in a satyrical way that most people have, at some point or another, found offensive. They profess a desire to make fun of everything and everyone, and to have a good laugh. Yet, they stir up debate and reflexion about issues they feel are important, which makes their contribution helpful. And above all, their right to do so is stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On the other hand, caricatures of that kind often seem designed to provoke outrage and anger. They can serve a purpose to a certain extend, as I said above; but it's not always the case. It does, at times, feel like outright, wilful disrespect. I think we should all exercise our freedom of expression with wisdom. If what we express only serves to cause hurt or anger, maybe we should think twice. Maybe, just maybe we should exercise kindness as well as freedom. In French we have a saying: "My freedom stops where yours begins". It implies that if exercising my freedom is done at the expense of someone else, then I mustn't.

Those who disapprove of Charlie Hebdo's tone or ideas have a right to express their dislike. I'm a Christian; I have found some of their cartoons deeply offensive, while aknowledging their right to publish them. My own beliefs, as well as the beliefs of Muslims worldwide, are similarly protected by the Human Rights Declaration. We have a right to feel offended or hurt.

However, does that justify a violent response in any way?

No! A thousand times no!

I have found a paraphrase of my French saying on the web. "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." Its origin isn't entirely clear, but that's beside the point. To me, violence is never the right response. Man has tried to solve problems with violence since the dawn of times, and it has never worked - it only creates a vicious circle of hurt and destruction.

Moreover, what happened on 7 January only feeds the arguments of racists and islamophobes. I fear the impact this tragedy will have on the Muslim community: more alienation, distrust, and discrimination, leading to hurt and anger - a fertile soil for more terrorist wannabes, hijacked by clever hate preachers. Violence breeds violence. 

I hope the voices of peaceful Muslims will drown out the voices of islamic terrorists. I hope the voice of open-minded, friendly people will drown out the voices of racists.

To satirical cartoonists in the vein of Charlie Hebdo, I say: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

To Muslims everywhere, I say: "I'll walk with you".

When the dumb and unhelpful trailer "The Innocence of Muslims" came out, Belgian cartoonist Kroll responded to outraged Muslims with this: "But... if I don't like a movie, I just don't go see it, that's all"