A number of Muslims justified the murder of 10 humorists and two police officers on Wednesday in an attack on a French satirical newspaper that ridiculed their religion. Oh, and Russia joined in, too.
On social media, many Muslims were unfazed. One Facebook comment, shared in a screenshot on Twitter, read: “this is the harvest of the hatred that France has sowed,” and a hashtag translated as #ExpelTheCrusaderAmongYou is spreading among terrorist supporters.Turkish Islamist newspaper Yeni Akit used the headline “Attack On Newspaper That Provoked Muslims: 11 Dead.”Türkiye Gazetesi, another Turkish outlet, wrote “10 Dead In Attack That Insulted Our Master The Prophet.”Egypt’s Shorouk News pointed out in its headline that Charlie Hebdo, the satirical publication, had “A History of Insulting the Prophet, Ending in Fire.”
A supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria tweeted: “We will vindicate the prophet with our own souls, O cross-worshipers. This is our response, and if you strike back, so will we!” Another wrote, “Christians condemn the operation that killed 12 infidels! But Crusader and Islamic planes bomb hundreds of Muslims, and they don’t shed a tear.”
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Russia also chimed in. The inanimate Twitter robots that spread Russian propaganda declared with one voice: “The press should be censored, and if you can’t respect the boundaries, you should pay with your life.”
Alexey Pushkov, a member of the Russian parliament, pointed out that “It’s not Russia that threatens Europe and its security.”
Social media also filled with voices condemning the violence and calling out some Muslims on their hypocrisy. Egyptian blogger Ahmad Saeid complained that “Some people are happy about the terrorist attack, saying that Charlie Hebdo deserved what was coming to them, but at the same time they’re upset about Islam being associated with terrorism!”
Another social media user called Islamic extremism “the biggest tragedy in Islam’s history.”
Popular Islamic scholar Mufti Ismail Menk, who is active on social media, tweeted, “The #ParisShooting is totally unacceptable. Such incidents make it difficult for the peace loving majority to lead normal lives #NotInMyName.”
Recognizing the victims’ profession, American-Muslim cartoonist G. Willow Wilson noted that “I should say something profound,” and shared the message, “If your religion is worth killing for, please start with yourself.”
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