16AR21-05
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AR 21:5 - Terrorism as a 'social activity'
In this issue:
FREE SPEECH - are all religions, including Islam, fair game for ridicule?
ISLAM - "the real impact of Islamic militancy will not be felt in the West"
Apologia Report 21:5 (1,278)
February 3, 2016
FREE SPEECH
Open Letter: On Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression, by Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier [1] -- Aurelien Breeden and Dan Bilefsky, reviewing the book for the New York Times (Apr 16 '15, n.p.), begin by explaining that Charb was the editor-in-chief of the obscene humor magazine Charlie Hebdo when he was assassinated by Islamist gunmen in Paris in January, and that he "is proving as defiant in death as he was in life."
"In a book finished just two days before his death ... Mr. Charbonnier defends his newspaper, which had been criticized for publishing provocative caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in the years before the attack.
"The book, [originally titled] 'Open Letter to the Fraudsters of Islamophobia Who Play Into Racists' Hands,' argues that all religions, including Islam, are fair game for ridicule in secular Republican France." Few in America knew that "The newspaper's offices were firebombed after it published a spoof issue in 2011 that it said had been guest-edited by Muhammad. ...
"Warming to his theme that the fight against Islamophobia had backfired, he argued that a misplaced fight against Islamophobia led by white elites had stifled free speech and paradoxically encouraged the mistreatment of Muslims by singling out their religious identity.
"'If tomorrow all the Muslims of France convert to Catholicism or abandon all religion, that would change nothing to racist discourse: These foreigners or French citizens of foreign descent will still be singled out as responsible for all problems,' Mr. Charbonnier wrote. He added that 'being afraid of Islam is most likely stupid, absurd and many other things, but it isn't a crime.' ...
"'The newspaper is part of a culture of satire in France where no one, from politicians to religious figures, is off limits. Past issues of Charlie Hebdo have included a mock debate on whether Jesus existed, and caricatures of Orthodox Jews.
"The publication of Mr. Charbonnier's book comes as France, host to Western Europe's largest Muslim population, is grappling with fears about Islamic extremism after January's attacks, during which a kosher supermarket in Paris was also targeted, and four hostages there were killed. ...
"'By virtue of what twisted theory is humor less compatible with Islam than it is with any other religion?' he wrote. 'Saying Islam is not compatible with humor is as absurd as claiming Islam is not compatible with democracy or secularism.'
"In keeping with the spirit of Charlie Hebdo, the book does not shy away from harsh jabs at religion. 'The problem is neither the Quran nor the Bible, sleep-inducing, incoherent and badly written novels,' Mr. Charbonnier wrote. The problem, he said, is the faithful who read the holy books 'like instructions for assembling Ikea shelves.'" <www.goo.gl/jxyKDT> (God bless the cold. "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!" Rev 3:15)
Kirkus (Dec '15 #1) adds: "France has no direct equivalent of the First Amendment, and so a satirical publication such as Charlie is subject to attack on all sides, official and otherwise." Charbonnier 'is quick to assert his atheism and leftism and to stick it to whatever deity one wishes to propose: [for] to be a believer, he insists, is 'above all, to fear,' while a God with the powers ascribed to him 'is big enough to take care of himself' and does not require the interventions of mullahs or bishops. Charb's nose-tweaking sometimes drifts into the juvenile, obscuring his more serious message: namely, that people who hate Islam really hate Muslims. ... Professing irritated amusement with the spectacle of death threats being issued against cartoonists, Charb takes on 'God's wingnuts,' a vision of a supreme being as someone who is "mean ... and dumb as a plank," and 'a few purportedly Muslim wackos" with gleeful abandon, even as he acknowledges - and as events proved - how dangerous his stance is. The logic is sometimes wobbly.... [T]he book is cursory, sometimes too much so. Nevertheless, this is a welcome and necessary essay in provocation - a lively, readable hornet-stirring in defense of free expression."
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ISLAM
The New Threat: The Past, Present, and Future of Islamic Militancy, by Jason Burke [2] -- "A concise summary of the background and present state of Islamic militancy. Guardian [newspaper] South Asian correspondent Burke ... sets out to explain the history and theoretical underpinnings of insurgent Islam and to describe and evaluate the most prominent groups engaged in armed struggle. He succeeds admirably on both counts. The author's more than 20 years' experience in reporting on Islamic militancy permits him to write with authority about the motivations, attitudes, and capabilities of the various militant groups. He rejects the belief that 'Islamic militancy represents some kind of regressive historical riptide' and calls the 'global war on terror' a 'monumentally misconceived strategy which is in part to blame for the spread of radical Islamic militancy over the last decade.' Burke traces today's Islamic militancy to a resurgence of Muslim faith identities in the 1970s and shows how Saudi oil money has been used to spread the intolerant Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam worldwide. He also ably sets out the evolution of militants' religious and political theories from the 1920s to the frightening current theory of 'leaderless jihad.' The author brings an unusual clarity to the discussion of this new movement and to his exposition of the theory and practice of Islamic militancy, including its creative uses of the Internet and social media to promote extremist ideologies. Burke clearly describes the differences between the aims and capabilities of al-Qaida and the Islamic State and of the growing number of independent actors disingenuously dismissed as 'lone wolves' by security services. Western readers may take some scant comfort in the author's observation that while 'the indirect impact of Islamic militancy on [Westerners'] lives is significant ... the real impact of Islamic militancy will not be felt in the places where this book is likely to be read.' Burke covers a lot of important ground in a compact narrative. General readers looking for a comprehensive guide to this serious global challenge will find this a rewarding, if sobering, read." Kirkus, Sep '15 #2.
Publishers Weekly (Sep '15 #4) adds: "Burke ... draws on two decades of reporting on conflicts throughout the Middle East and South Asia for the Guardian and the Observer to deliver a comprehensive, lucid study of Islamic militancy. Wide-ranging and thought-provoking, Burke's work identifies various factors in the rise of modern-day Muslim extremist groups: a renewed sense of religious identity in the 1970s, oil-rich Saudi Arabia's promotion of conservative Wahhabism, nostalgia for bygone Islamic empires, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and, most recently, disillusionment with the Arab Spring. He covers the two main global organizations, al-Qaeda and ISIS, and their bitter rivalry, as well as the affiliates (Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Shabaab). Assessing the current threat, Burke finds that al-Qaeda's ability to launch spectacular attacks is much diminished, and ISIS is focused on the 'near enemy,' expending most of its resources in Iraq and Syria. He sees more danger posed to Western nations by the 'leaderless jihad' - low-tech attacks by apparently self-motivated individuals such as the Boston Marathon bombers and the Charlie Hebdo attackers. Even in the case of so-called lone wolves, however, Burke shows that terrorism is essentially a social activity, rooted in a shared vision of the world. This timely and well-informed study deserves a wide audience."
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Open Letter: On Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression, by Charb [Stéphane Charbonnier] (Little, Brown, 2016, hardcover, 96 pages) <www.goo.gl/e82Hh0>
2 - The New Threat: The Past, Present, and Future of Islamic Militancy, by Jason Burke (New Press, 2015, hardcover, 192 pages) <www.goo.gl/TAOSIF>
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