Qui Est Charlie?

Staff Writers Keaghan Knight and Sarah Morris

“Je Suis Charlie.” These were the words that hit the streets of Paris on 11 January 2015, when over two million people gathered in an effort for national unity. This rally came in the days following an attack on the satire magazine Charlie Hebdo on 7 January when two Islamic militants killed twelve people and injured eleven others over a controversial depiction the magazine made of Muhammad.

The magazine is widely known for its strong anti religious sentiments, and after the incident the publication came under fire for its often offensive satirical humor, and people began questioning whether the cartoon that led to the shooting should have been published at all. In the aftermath of this, a debate has begun with the limits of free speech at its center.

Those declaring “Je Suis Charlie,” have no problem defending the rights of the magazine, but now is the time to ask just who free speech applies to in today’s world, and why it only seems to apply to people with ideals that match our own.

In the midst of the debate it is important to recognize that there are limits to freedom of speech.  However, French prime minister Manuel Valls declared a war on “terrorism and radical Islam”. The prime minister is directly violating the rights of any citizen who is a supposed “terrorist sympathizer” when his citizens are being jailed for speaking their mind. It is discriminating to French Muslims.

Of the 68,000 French prisoners, 60% are reported as being Muslim.

This statistic follows the fact that only 33% of the French population identify as practicing Muslims. Since the event the Associated Press reported that, “French police have arrested more than 70 people since the attacks for allegedly defending or glorifying terrorism.”

It is becoming clear that Muslims are being targeted in the midst of this. We have a situation where millions of people are defending the rights of Charlie Hebdo to say what they want, because the things that they are saying do not scare them. As soon as an Islamic person shares equally controversial views though, they are immediately accused of terrorism. When comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala posted on facebook,

“I feel like Charlie Coulibaly,”

(a combination of the names Charlie Hebdo and the attacker Amedy Coulibaly) he was arrested for his comments. He later said in a letter,

“You consider me like Amedy Coulibaly when I am no different from Charlie.”

M’bala M’bala really highlights this hypocrisy taking place. Charlie Hebdo was allowed to take satire to an extreme, but Muslim people are being persecuted for expressing their own extremes, even in what is meant to be a comedic context. Even though the cartoons incited violence, both sides have a right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. And as this fight is going on, it is important to remember that everyone has the right to be “Charlie.”