January 7th started out like any other Wednesday morning in Paris, but at 11:30 am that all changed and the City of Lights was plunged into a dark and scary nightmare that ended 3 days later after tearing through a newspaper office and a Jewish supermarket . One suspect was still on the loose, three suspects had been killed, and 17 victims had their lives snatched away.
While the families and France reeled with the shock of what had happened, another storm was already brewing. Anger and fear were simmering beneath the surface and a few misguided people were directing it against the French Muslim community. A mosque was grenade-attacked. A kebab shop was bombed #KillAllMuslims was trending online. And gunfire was sprayed at a Muslim family’s car.
But the story did not end there. And as always, the rest of France and the world answered back. The right to freedom of expression became a worldwide monument with the cry of #JeSuisCharlie. Whether they were fans of the band One Direction sending messages of #SpreadPeaceAndNotViolence, people memorializing the cop who was killed with #JeSuisAhmed, or citizens of the world calling for #RespectForMuslims, the messages of the terrorists and the islamophobic few were soon drowned out. And on Sunday as the first funeral was held in Paris, over 4 million people marched through France in a unity march that crossed all religious and political backgrounds. They were joined by millions more across Europe and the world in a historic stand of solidarity against the hate that was trying to rip France apart.
The chronicle of the Paris terror attacks was told through many different stories and many different viewpoints.
It was an attempt to silence freedom of expression,a right enshrined as a human right without any doubt and valued in just about every democratic society in the world. There are some who argued that there should be limits like Canada’s Hate Speech. But there are many who say that these laws shouldn’t exist. Then there are families like Morgane Ahmad who tearfully ask the media how they could show the graphic video of her fiancé, a police officer, being gunned down on the Parisian sidewalk by terrorists on Wednesday.
It was committed by people who considered themselves to be adherents to the Islamic religion, a religion that includes 1.8 billion people around the world. And this is a story that also unfolded from multiple perspectives in Paris over these last few days.
-On one hand, there are the five suspects who murdered 17 people in cold-blood over three days. Hamyd Mourad, Cherif Kouachi, Said Kouachi, Amedy Coulibaly, and Hayat Boumeddiene were all radicalized under a distorted version of Islam and their ideology ultimately guided their horrendous actions.
-But then there is Ahmed Merabet, a French police officer with the Unité SGP Police. He was the first officer on the scene…and he was also Muslim. Heroic to the end, he was slaughtered on the sidewalk outside the magazine office while defending the right to freedom of expression.
-And on Friday, there was the actions of Lassana Bathily, an employee at the Jewish supermarket…and a Muslim as well. Just hours before the Sabbath began, 6 terrified customers followed him into a freezer where they hid from terrorists in the store,
Just as with most everything in life, the connection between Islam and the terror attacks included many different people and events. Each one gives us a different perspective of one of the world’s largest religions. In the end, it comes down to our own individual choices. On Sunday, millions in France joined hands to walk together past a mosque and the Jewish supermarket where Muslims, Christians, and Jewish people alike knelt in hushed prayers of remembrance. They choose to unite together against the terrorists and make sure France was not fractured. They lighted the flame of hope for Paris as it begins to heal.
“The smallest change in perspective can transform a life.”Through which looking-glass will we choose to look at our lives and ultimately our world?
Maryam Baksh is a student at University of British Columbia. She is a member of the Muslim community and lives in Vancouver with her family
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking HERE
