Oh God the debate is still raging...
I wanted to add the words of some Muslims interviewed by the Guardian in London today. Seems they are having (of course) their own
Debate about what has happened...
"Shares
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Outside the East London mosque, many sought the same answer. “Why are you here?” said Bilal, 32, from nearby Poplar. “Why are you asking what we think of Paris? It’s 250 miles away in another country. What happens there has nothing to do with us,” his friend added.
As thousands filtered on to Whitechapel’s Fieldgate Street following Friday prayers at the mosque, many said they could see no point in commenting on individuals they had never met and who, they said, cited a religion they could not recognise.
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“Are you asking me to speak about something that I don’t understand? Are you asking me to apologise as a Muslim on their behalf? We don’t ask the Irish to apologise for the IRA,” said Maaz, 22, who lives locally and did not want to give his full name.
The debate over the wholesale blaming of Muslims for the events in Paris was given an acrimonious twist on Saturday after News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch tweeted that even peaceful Muslims ought to bear the burden of the deadly Charlie Hebdo death toll “until they destroy growing jihadist cancer”.
His comments provoked opprobrium across social media, with political commentator Mohammed Ansar describing it “deeply irresponsible” and an incitement to the angry.
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Back on Whitechapel Road, auditor Mohammed Lambat, 29, from near Manchester, pleaded for Britons to avoid allowing the Paris killings to cloud their view of Muslims. “This could change the views of the majority of non-Muslims but I hope not. Minorities always get hurt but the majority never does.”
His friend Zohaid Quereshi, 25, also an auditor, said he had detected no sympathy from anyone he knew for the Paris gunmen and said that their murderous actions had nothing to do with Islam.
Outside the nearby London Muslim Centre, a group of young men who described themselves as progressive implored the UK media to refrain from using representations of the prophet Muhammad, arguing that the pain it provoked could spark animosity.
Ahmed, 25, who works in the sandwich chain Subway, said: “It’s very painful, far worse than insulting my father, my family. It causes us great hurt, but people do not seem to understand this.”
His friend, Abdul, 26, who works in Argos, added: “It’s very hurtful: they are abusing the freedom of speech by doing this. We are passive, but some people are more emotional, they will react differently.”
The friends, born in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, said that defiling the prophet should be considered a criminal offence because it was effectively incitement to hatred.
Earlier, the group visiting East London mosque, one of Europe’s biggest, accommodating more than 7,000 worshippers for congregational prayers, said the imam’s message had been to urge the community to display restraint and not react to the Charlie Hebdo drawings of the prophet.
“He urged patience. He said the prophet never took revenge and told us not to react,” said one of the group, Shiraz, 32, and who also works in the same east London branch of Subway as Ahmed.
He added that the act of publishing representations of Muhammad could bolster the belief among some Muslims that they were being persecuted.
Fiyaz Mughal, director of the multifaith group Faith Matters, called on Muslims to “stand up and join the debate”. He said the killing would lead to an increase in anti-Muslim bigotry and “build, in the minds of some, the thinking that the gulf between Muslims and non-Muslims cannot be overcome”.
He added: “This is dangerous and uncritical kneejerk reactionism that leads nowhere apart from more damaged lives and a cycle of hate that will simply continue. This cycle of hate and counter-hate needs breaking and it also means that we all have to work to ensure that extremists, bigots and those who seek to divide do not succeed in their endeavours.”
Peace and love everyone. 