No-one can fail to have missed the horrific events at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris yesterday. It's been reported from so many different angles - The Evil That Men Do, The Rise Of Militant Islam, Lax Security, Attack On The Freedom Of Speech.
What has struck me most in this event and so many other horrific events in the last few years is how quickly people stick together and offer support to strangers. Last night there were candle-lit vigils in Paris, London and many other cities around the world and most movingly a minutes applause for the Charlie Hebdo staff this morning.
Certain aspects of the media will take this opportunity to scaremonger against Muslims in general (yes The Daily Mail & Daily Express I mean you) but one of the most heartening things I saw yesterday amongst the horrific footage was an interview with a run of the mill Parisian who was concerned that "normal Muslims will be vilified as a result of this". There is so much press coverage about radicalisation within the Muslim community, with concerns about people heading to and from Syria and Iraq to fight for Islamic State. I don't deny that this is a significant security threat to us here in the UK and other countries (it is believed that the cold-blooded killers yesterday were of this ilk) BUT these are a tiny minority of a community of thousands that live and get on with their lives peacefully and quietly.
I can't speak for other countries, but sometimes wonder if the barriers that allegedly exist between the Muslim population and 'The rest of the UK population' isn't mostly created by the media. Most stories concerning mosques or Muslim communities in the media are negative, there's no reporting of the fantastic community spirit they have (sadly lacking in most of the UK!) and the way in which they look after each other. When my friends and I were involved in a (thankfully minor) car accident on the way home from Reading Festival back in 2011 the only passers by who came to check we were ok were a group on their way home from the mosque. They called an ambulance, offered their coats to keep us warm, offered to go and get water and food and insisted on waiting with us until the ambulance arrived -essentially behaving like kind human beings.
A couple of days ago there was a large demonstration in Dresden against 'The Islamification Of Europe', however there were even larger demonstrations in Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg in favour of tolerance and equality. After the hostage situation in Sydney last month the top trending hashtag in Australia was #illridewithyou in response to Women in Muslim dress too scared to use public transport for fear of reprisals. Via this hashtag people were going out of their way across a large city to ride with complete strangers in order that they weren't afraid.
Cast your minds back to the riots in 2011, amidst the looting and anarchy a twitter campaign was immediately started and people came together in British 'Blitz spirit' to clean up and repair what they could. Remember Reeves furniture shop in Croydon that was torched during the riots? It was a third generation family owned business and it broke my heart seeing the devastation on the family's faces as they watched their livelihoods burn. They were interviewed the next morning and told reporters that their phone had been ringing off the hook since early that morning from people as far away as Scotland wishing to purchase furniture stored at their warehouse (fortunately undamaged) so that they weren't financially ruined.
The cartoonists and writers at Charlie Hebdo satirised people of all religions and professions. They believed in the importance of free speech but also realised that humour is one of mankind's most effective weapons. To laugh at someone and something is to lessen it's power. To use a very lowbrow analogy, in Harry Potter there is a type of creature called a Boggart that immediately turns into what you fear most. The charm that defeats the Boggart is to declare it Riddikulus. The characters end up laughing at the Boggart and it explodes as it no longer has any power. Charlie Hebdo understood that laughter takes some of evil's power away.
What Islamic State, or terrorists of any religion or creed the world over, do not realise is that no matter what devastating wounds they may inflict on us humanity will always win because we have each other.
RIP to those brave Charlie Hebdo employees, you have not died in vain.
Love Jen
XxxX
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