There can be absolutely no justification of it in my opinion.
It has been described as an attack on democracy and on free speech.
It was also, I think, an attack on one group of people by another in what seems to me is becoming an attempt to provoke an all-out war between radical Islam and 'The West'.
A war which has the potential to escalate into a major, terrifying and almost unstoppable conflict between groups of people who live in the same country as their opponents and on a world-wide scale. Not one country against another with Queensberry rules applying and the Geneva convention to ensure fair play (as if this was remotely possible in a real war); but neighbours fighting each other for reasons of ideology, religious beliefs, control over others and ultimately (of course) financial gain.
The people who seem to want to provoke this all-out war are, as usual, those with the most to gain and the least to lose and when one has almost nothing to lose - and is promised a life of glory, luxury and a plentiful supply of virgins in the hereafter; and people believe that shit - then it must be quite an easy task to persuade them to sacrifice their lives for the cause. It certainly 'unlevels' the playing field if they're fighting against people who value life so much more than themselves.
If death is seen as a victory by your opponent, how to you (we) win the battle?We've all seen the images of Afghanistan and Iraq in the 1950s compared to today. Sophisticated modern women enjoying freedoms then, compared to the huddled, covered chattels - slaves almost - that we increasingly see in those countries today. The inference is that this is how Islamic Sharia law would change the lives of women in particular in the modern world, should radical Islam succeed in provoking this war and then in its outcome.
It is truly a quite terrifying prospect.
OK a couple of points if I may before I justify the headline:
First is that the great British media who will dig in your dustbin to expose your shenanigans and will fight tooth and nail not to have any restrictions on its own 'free speech', will hack phones and loiter outside 'massage parlours' to expose perfidious politicians, did not have the guts to reprint any of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that were at the centre of yesterday's atrocity. Because they were too scared to do so.
Have we already lost this fight? Are we already too cowed into submission to have a chance?
They're here if you're interested:
They're a bit crass and a bit 'frying pan' (to the back of the head) for my taste; I probably wouldn't be a subscriber. But they've effectively caused the deaths of their creators so they deserve to be seen I think.
Maybe I'll be targeted now, killed for reproducing them. As one of the slain said, 'I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.'
Melodramatic? Maybe, you never know do you? And that's part of the problem.
My second point is that we're ignoring this as an issue. Farage was criticised today for claiming that there's a fifth column in our society that holds our (British) passports and yet hate us. And that multiculturalism has failed and is part of the problem. I tend to agree with him - let's face it he's the only political public figure who seems prepared to recognise the issue.
Dave and Nick chastised him for 'scoring political points' on such a sad day. Not something they have ever shied away from themselves. Ed? Well he was just absent from the debate as is usually the case. Leadership? We're not getting any from any 'major' party at the moment.
The bottom line in all this, it seems to me, is that we have almost lost this fight. This piece in the Telegraph tonight suggests that by condemning yesterday's terror we're playing into the terrorists' hands. So what should we do? Embrace terror? Try to appease a bit more? The people we're up against see appeasement as our great weakness. Something to be exploited.
And then, later, just now in fact, this was posted by the Washington Post: Link.
I have blogged endlessly you might think about how we might solve this problem. I have perhaps been unfair to 'Moderate Muslims' before now, being suspicious of their values and views. You can decide here, here and here.
I stand by every single word. But today is different. Today I have realised that we simply cannot solve this problem (short of the all-out war I describe above), unless Moderate Muslims take a stand. Unless they stand up and denounce the terror that is being unleashed in their name. Unless they tell the world, not quietly behind closed doors but publicly and loudly, in Australia, Canada, the USA and Europe that they are against this travesty of their religion; this use of their religion to justify terror.
That while they may be Muslims, they do not share the views of the extremists in their ranks, their communities, their homes. That they value the societies around the world that have welcomed them, been generous to them, have housed, fed and cared for and protected them.
If they cannot do this, if they do not genuinely believe in this as being the right course of action then we're fucked. As a species. And so are they.
And if this comes to pass, our survival as a species will mean that the fight, against our fellow citizens, will be to the death. It will be modernity against the dark ages. Freedom against oppression. Progress against medievalism.
A fight we must - and will - win. Buit at great cost to everyone involved.
Thanks for reading.
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