PA daily op-ed condemns terror attacks in France but also condemns Charlie Hebdo for its cartoons mocking Muhammad
On Jan. 7, 2015, Muslim terrorists Cherif and Said Kouachi carried out a shooting attack at the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. 12 people were killed in the attack, which was a response to cartoons the magazine published about Islam's Prophet Muhammad. On Jan. 8, in a connected attack, Muslim terrorist Amely Coulibaly shot and killed a policewoman in Paris and on Jan. 9, he shot and killed 4 Jewish shoppers at a Paris kosher supermarket.
While Abbas officially condemned the terror attacks in France, PMW has documented different PA reactions to the attacks. Some have condemned them while at the same time condemning Charlie Hebdo for mocking Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Others have compared the terror attacks in France to Israeli "terrorism" against Palestinians, and some have even claimed that Israel was behind the attacks.
Op-ed by Osama Al-Fara, regular columnist for official PA daily:
“The world awoke to condemn and denounce the criminal incident that struck the French paper Charlie Hebdo. In addition, the countries of the world, besides attending the mass [anti-terror] rally in Paris in condemnation of the incident, were quick to declare their solidarity with the French nation, each in its own way, and there was confusion over the meaning of [the word] solidarity, which was occasionally used outside of its usual context: For even if the crime that struck the paper is a subject for condemnation and denunciation, and is unjustifiable, the condemnation must not go under the slogan, ‘I am Charlie,’ because for years, the magazine has published offensive cartoons of our honorable Prophet, which we cannot accept as part of freedom of expression. The supreme value of freedom of expression, on which the entire world agrees, gives no one permission to offend the beliefs of the Islamic religion or any other religion…
If the crime committed against the unknown Charlie Hebdo magazine, which is trying to extract itself from its financial crises by publishing offensive cartoons of the Messenger [of Allah, Muhammad] and of Jesus, achieved what the magazine had longed for, then its insistence on publishing offensive cartoons of our honorable Prophet in its next issue will [surely] foreshadow additional reactions. This magazine, which aims to publish over 3 million copies of its next issue in over 15 languages, disrespects the feelings of the Islamic nations, and therefore, in our opinion, rejection [of it] takes precedence over condemnation.”
While Abbas officially condemned the terror attacks in France, PMW has documented different PA reactions to the attacks. Some have condemned them while at the same time condemning Charlie Hebdo for mocking Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Others have compared the terror attacks in France to Israeli "terrorism" against Palestinians, and some have even claimed that Israel was behind the attacks.
Op-ed by Osama Al-Fara, regular columnist for official PA daily:
“The world awoke to condemn and denounce the criminal incident that struck the French paper Charlie Hebdo. In addition, the countries of the world, besides attending the mass [anti-terror] rally in Paris in condemnation of the incident, were quick to declare their solidarity with the French nation, each in its own way, and there was confusion over the meaning of [the word] solidarity, which was occasionally used outside of its usual context: For even if the crime that struck the paper is a subject for condemnation and denunciation, and is unjustifiable, the condemnation must not go under the slogan, ‘I am Charlie,’ because for years, the magazine has published offensive cartoons of our honorable Prophet, which we cannot accept as part of freedom of expression. The supreme value of freedom of expression, on which the entire world agrees, gives no one permission to offend the beliefs of the Islamic religion or any other religion…
If the crime committed against the unknown Charlie Hebdo magazine, which is trying to extract itself from its financial crises by publishing offensive cartoons of the Messenger [of Allah, Muhammad] and of Jesus, achieved what the magazine had longed for, then its insistence on publishing offensive cartoons of our honorable Prophet in its next issue will [surely] foreshadow additional reactions. This magazine, which aims to publish over 3 million copies of its next issue in over 15 languages, disrespects the feelings of the Islamic nations, and therefore, in our opinion, rejection [of it] takes precedence over condemnation.”