Syrians show solidarity with Charlie Hebdo

Writing by Balqis Abu Rachid; Translation by Yusra Ahmed

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Muslims in general, Syrian in particular, rejected latest attacks in France, considered them nothing more than terrorist attacks, which are completely not related to Islam and its principles.

17 people were killed in Paris last week in attacks. 12 people, five of them cartoonists were killed in the satirical Magazine Chalrie Hebdo, a police officer, and 4 people were killed in a Jewish supermarket in Eastern Paris after a Hostage-taking attack.

On Sunday, an estimate of 3.7 million people all over France, including 1.5 million in Paris, gathered to show solidarity with the victims. Moreover, they raised pens and pencils and signboards calling for freedom of speech. Muslims from Arabic Maghreb “Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco” and Syrians resident in France participated in the gathering.

Nearly 40 world leaders joined the start of the march holding their arms together.

“It was remarkable that no anti-Islam caption was raised during the gathering, which reflects the true trend of the French street’s opinion, which looked different from the media trend, that concentrated on Islamists” Doha Aashoor, a participant Syrian Journalist said.

She commented that no justification would be acceptable for such a crime against human beings in general, and journalists in particular, “this crime threatened the freedom of speech”

She considered that humiliating and disrespecting of Islam and Prophet Mohammed could be treated in similar ways like writing, drawing, or by law

Those attacks are exceptionally politicized” the journalist said, she anticipated that Muslims would badly affected after them. She supported the opinion of “intended attack” by extremists or intelligence to cause global troubles.

At personal levels, she said that she started to feel uncomfortable and unsafe, as people's faces and feelings changed from relaxation, and relief, into stress and uncertainty.

Fayez Kentar, an academic Syrian has lived for a long time in France, said that such an attack was difficult to believe and was a shock to the public opinion in Europe in general and France in particular.

“That direct and mean killing of innocents is disgusting and totally unacceptable”, said.

At political level, he expected the attacks would bring difficult time to Muslims in France, as many politicians would use them for their benefits to help their agendas, especially the extreme right-winged which would use the new circumstances to minimize the Islamic effects of Western communities.

He regrettably presented the difference between Sunday’s gathering, and multi marches in French and other European cities to support Palestinians after latest attack on Gaza in Summer 2014.

Kentar drew attention to Syrian regime’s hidden gloating for the attacks, trying to take advantage to present itself as a victim of the same extremist and expiatory forces, trying to join the international community again.

Kentar did not think that attacks in France could change the way France dealt with the Syrian crisis, as it still considers Bashar’s regime a dictating suppressive regime, leads to extremism and terrorism.

“There are revision of the West’s management and perception of the Arab Spring’s revolutions, as a new theme started to appear tends to support the idea that fighting terrorism is deeply related to founding democratic regimes in the Arab counties, respect human beings and their needs, protect their essential rights, fight discrimination and suppression, and look to find real viable solution in Syria, Iraq and Palestine”, Kentar detailed.

Syrian people condemned the attacks and expressed their solidarity with victims, beside supporting the freedom of speech, either by participating in the march on Sunday, or via the social media. They wrote their thoughts and sincere feelings on the campaign: “I am Charlie Hebdo”, or by publishing images of broken pencils.

Jadi’a Dawara, a Journalist, found that facing drawing, sarcasm and cartoons with killing is unacceptable, because it can simply be managed by Law.

He expressed that actions does not reflect the real soul of Islam, and those attacks would badly affect the Muslim community in France, and could restrict acceptance of Syrians' asylum seeking applications.

Abo Ahmad, a refugee newly arrived to France, told an incidence happened to him to show the amount of respect French people have toward other religions. He said that he was with his veiled wife, when they wanted to buy a piece of pizza, but the seller refused selling him, he did not understand what the seller explained to him and insisted on buying it, till a French man of Moroccan origin told him that pizza has some pork, which was not allowed to Muslims, and the seller was honest to him and did not want to cheat him.