Islamic Terrorists Attack Freedom Of Speech In Paris: 12 Dead

Twelve people, including police, journalists and cartoonists were killed today at the headquarters of “Charlie Hebdo,” a satirical magazine in Paris.

A French imam called the slain journalists “martyrs for liberty.”

In the US, Secretary of State, John Kerry, said “directly to the people of Paris and of all of France,” that “each and every American stands with you today, not just in horror or in anger or in outrage for this vicious act of violence, though we stand with you in solidarity and in commitment both to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause which the extremists fear so much and which has always united our two countries: freedom.”

Secretary Kerry was at a press conference with Polish Foreign Minister, Schetyna. He said the murders of the people in France was not a clash of civilizations, but a clash “between civilization itself and those who are opposed to a civilized world.”

masked man in paris
A masked gunman outside the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris.

“No country knows better than France that freedom has a price, because France gave birth to democracy itself. France sparked so many revolutions of the human spirit, borne of freedom and of free expression, and that is what the extremists fear the most. They may wield weapons, but we in France and in the United States share a commitment to those who wield something that is far more powerful – not just a pen, but a pen that represents an instrument of freedom, not fear. Free expression and a free press are core values, they are universal values; principles that can be attacked but never eradicated, because brave and decent people around the world will never give in to the intimidation and the terror that those seeking to destroy those values employ.”

The offices of Charlie Hebdo had been attacked and firebombed previously, in the past few years.

The black masked killers proclaimed that “Charlie Hebdo is dead,” but they are wrong. Charlie Hebdo is very much alive, and spontaneous protests are taking place all over France, supporting their freedom of speech.

The director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization, at King’s College’s in London, Peter Neumann, said, “This is a dangerous moment for European societies. With increasing radicalization among supporters of jihadist organizations and the white working class increasingly feeling disenfranchised and uncoupled from elites, things are coming to a head.”

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, condemned the attack, saying the Iranian people and their resistance stand with the French people and the bereaved families of the victims. She said the “attack on citizens and the innocent, especially reporters, upon whatever pretext or reason is a terroristic crime in blatant contradiction to the teachings of Islam that is far from these kinds of atrocities.”

“We condemn this horrific attack on a media outlet and its staff – the worst such attack globally in the past five years – as a direct threat to the right of freedom of expression in France, and to us all. Silencing the messenger is the worst form of censorship, made even more abhorrent by violence.” – Karin Karlekar, director of the Freedom of the Press project at Freedom House.

President Hollande declared a day of mourning, and called for a minute of silence at noon.

Secretary Kerry said the freedom of expression represented by Charlie Hebdo is not able to be killed by this kind of act of terror. It will serve to strengthen the commitment to freedom of the civilized world.

See also the story by Kimberly Jones, When Religion Becomes an Excuse, in which she said “Throughout time, men have coveted their religious beliefs above all others. This has led to the Crusades, the Inquisitions, and the Holocaust. Thousands upon thousands have died in the defense of their religion, or because they didn’t have the “proper” religion according to an opponent.”

Islamic Terrorists Attack Freedom Of Speech In Paris
Islamic Terrorists Attack Freedom Of Speech In Paris

Alan Gray is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NewsBlaze Daily News and other online newspapers. He prefers to edit, rather than write, but sometimes an issue rears it’s head and makes him start hammering away on the keyboard.

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Alan has been on the internet since it first started. He loves to use his expertise in content and digital marketing to help businesses grow, through managed content services. After living in the United States for 15 years, he is now in South Australia. To learn more about how Alan can help you with content marketing and managed content services, contact him by email.

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Alan is also a techie. His father was a British soldier in the 4th Indian Division in WWII, with Sikhs and Gurkhas. He was a sergeant in signals and after that, he was a printer who typeset magazines and books on his linotype machine. Those skills were passed on to Alan and his brothers, who all worked for Telecom Australia, on more advanced signals (communications). After studying electronics, communications, and computing at college, and building and repairing all kinds of electronics, Alan switched to programming and team building and management.

He has a fascination with shooting video footage and video editing, so watch out if he points his Canon 7d in your direction.