A profound event has awakened a lethargic world. Millions of people have instantly materialized in city squares across Europe and in cities elsewhere around the globe in peaceful demonstrations of solidarity with those slain in the Muslim terrorist attacks on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris. Most of the signs carried by the mourners held very simple and very telling words, “Je Suis Charlie.”
These powerful words translated as, “I Am Charlie,” tell all Muslim terrorists and other witnessing eyes around the world that they stand with liberty of expression. In so doing, they also demonstrate a stand against “political correctness.” They stand for freedom. They stand against keeping your mouth shut, much to the chagrin of Obama’s Administration and much against the stand of almost 100% of our media in North America. They stand against closing your eyes pretending Muslim terrorism and extremism doesn’t exist and shouldn’t be identified, or shouldn’t be talked about. They stand against being ordered not to write or draw anything that might be considered satirical, or anything other than reverentially adoring of Muhammed.
The contributors of the French satirical publication who were gunned down, including Stephane Charbonnier, Georges Wolinski, Jean Cabut, Bernard Verlhac, Philippe Honore, and Bernard Maris, all knew the dangers presented by efforts to portray some of the too often unspoken elements in the underbelly of Muslim fundamentalism. The portrayals included cartoons, the existence of which required presence of security guards in Charlie Hebdo’s offices.
Our media, from the NYT, to CNN, to NBC, to LAT, hide behind pretence that any portrayals having anything to do with Islam are inappropriate, or not politically correct. Has it really taken the slaughter of 12 French citizens who courageously stood for Freedom, to awaken us to the reality that we have a gutless, ideologically entrenched, politically correct, and almost worthless media?
We stand in solidarity with those who knowingly took the risks, and with those who today recognize that courage.
A constituent of the vast baby boomer generation with a career which has been fortunate to know the ponderous corporate worlds, as well as the intimately pressurized, and invigorating entrepreneurial domains of high tech and venture capital, I have harvested my share of mistakes meandering through corridors of enterprise from Silicon Valley, to London and endless, colourful, sometimes praetorian points in between. The voyage has provided an abundance of fodder for a pen yielding to an inquisitive keyboard, a foraging mind, and a passionate spirit.
Whether political or business or social or economic or personal, is it not all political? It is a privilege to write, and an even greater privilege to be read by anyone, and sometimes with the wind at my back the writing may occasionally be legible. I do not write to invite scorn, nor to invite respect, but if I get really lucky the writing can stimulate thinking. I also write for the very selfish purpose of animating my own processes, and engaging the best of what life offers. Above all, whether biting fire or swatting shadows, I am grateful to be gifted the freedom to write and publish whatever flows down to the keyboard. To all those who enabled this freedom, and to all those standing guard to preserve it, I am indebted.
I am really tired of this denial. Really, really tired of it.
One of those murdered by these three was a Muslim himself.
Many Muslims have spoken against the act.
Now, what can they DO?
Arrange a NEW zagat tithe that omits every penny of their tithe that now goes to support jihad.
As it stands, no matter how ”peaceful” an individual Muslim is, a large proportion of his tithe goes to support jihad!
The ”zagat,” is mandatory in Islam.
1/7th of it goes to support jihadists.
1,600,000,000 Muslims’ 3% of income divided by 7.
That is a bunch of cash.
That needs to be starved out of Islam.
Unless and until this happens, all those moderate Muslims crying and claiming ”it’s not Islam,” are mouthing empty words.
People may decry this attack for now, but in a few weeks this will slip away too. Whatever the “lesson” may be, calling this for what it is has become past tense. Calling it terrorism, evil, etc. is perceived to be misunderstanding them (Hillary’s empathy). The words of condemnation will not stop them, nor change the terrorist mindset.
@drjohn: #1
Absolutely. Pathetically, the zombies comprising 95% of our media have taken the lead from the Oval Office.
. . . Pretend you’re great, pretend you’re right, pretend there are no Muslim terrorists, and go golfing.
@Nanny: #2
Nan, you mentioned this before and it’s worth an article all on it’s own.
Reality is that most Muslims support terrorism around the world. They have to, . . . Muhammad ordered it.
Once upon a time, however, . . . .
I spoke to a Berber from Algeria recently who reminded me that Algeria and Morocco were Not “Arab” and were Not Muslim, until the Muslim hordes, fuelled by Muhammad, slaughtered their way West across North Africa and conquered peaceful peoples. That resentment is still felt there, particularly in Morocco.
@David: #3
It may remain on the airwaves for a while until they find the 2 Muslim terrorists still missing who did this.
@Nanny:
Hey, Nan. Do you have a link regarding 1/7th going toward jihad? Thanks. As far as “mandatory”, in actual practice isn’t zakat different (if applied at all) from place to place, sect to sect, and not monolithic?
@Wordsmith: #7
Zakat is mandatory since it is one of the five pillars of Islam – meaning, to be a Muslim, there are 5 acts you must perform. The disagreement might come in the redistribution of that 2.5% of each donor’s wealth. It’s supposed to go back into the community from which it is collected. Here’s where the Mullahs come in — then all bets are off as to where it really goes, or historically, where it has gone.
Receivers can be those who fight for the Muslim cause.
I pray for Charlie, the others murdered, their Families, friends and colleagues…that they rest in peace.
This is just a horrible act.
I’ve been reading French People’s reaction to Obama’s presser – many of them find it very ” Insulting “. They cannot even stand him.
In videos regarding this Muslim Terrorist Massacre in France we see Obama appearing pretty ‘relaxed’ while speaking to the press about this unspeakable act of terror against Free Speech!
Obama as usual has given a limp response to these (Muslim Terrorist) murders.
He showed more hutzpah when speaking about Michael Brown or Treyvon.
He showed more hutzpah when attacking and condemning our Police Officers.
He cannot even bring himself to say ‘that word’ – “Terrorist” – “Muslim Terrorists” Why?
He is a secret Muslim. He stands with Muslims – he Lies like Muslims. He learned well….
He insults everyone’s intelligence. We need him gone.
@Wordsmith:
“Alms are for the poor and the needy,
and those employed to administer the (funds);
for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth);
for those in bondage
and in debt;
in the cause of Allah;
and for the wayfarer:
(thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.”
— Qur’an, Sura 9, ayat 60
Islamic scholars Visser, Hans & Visser, Herschel (2009). Islamic finance: principles and practice.
Jonathan Benthal, The Qur’an’s Call to Alms Zakat, the Muslim Tradition of Alms-giving.
And many others list those areas thusly:
1. The poor and needy Muslims. Al-Masākīn
2. The Zagat collectors. Al-Āmilīyn ‘Alihā
3. To persuade those sympathetic to convert to Islam. Al-Mu’allafatu Qulūbuhum
4. To newly freed Muslim slaves. Fir-Riqāb
5. To the deeply indebted Muslims. Al-Ghārimīn
6. To those fighting for religious cause or cause of God. Fī Sabīlillāh
7. To Muslims traveling on an Islamic goal but cannot reach their destination without financial assistance. Ibnu Al-Sabīl
To refuse to pay the zagat is apostasy and punishable as apostasy.
Many Islamic Sharia standards for punishment for apostasy is death.
I hate to break it to the french but peaceful candlelight demonstrations will accomplish bascially zip against the muslims. You need violence and a lot of it as that is the only message they get. Kill enough of them and they back off for a while. Look at Martel, Gordon, the Barbary pirates, etc. The muslims do not care about anything except conquest for allah and nothing but death stops them. It’s a lesson we need to remember.
Sorry to be so hateful but I do believe I am right. If not, someone show me where I am wrong…
@Bookdoc: #11
Bookdoc, you bring up a good point here. It is worth reviewing history even though complacency is rampant across our media and in our leadership.
Muslims controlled Arabia 632 and following Mohammed’s death they went on a conquest which included Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Persia, Levant (Jordan), Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, and Somalia. Along this path of terror, pillaging, and enslavement, Muslims forced the conquered to become Muslims, to learn Arabic, and to forget their cultures and identities. Only Persia reverted to “Persian.”
There are Berber heros like Princess Kahina (of Jewish ancestry), who fought hard against the Muslim hordes. Berbers still conflict with Arabs. Today Berbers have principally been relegated to barely habitable regions of the Sahara desert. From Algeria, Muslims jumped across the straight of Gibraltar, attempting to conquer Spain and other parts of Europe, but the retaliatory forces were too powerful and they failed.
Today, with the trillions of dollars that OIL provided the Middle East, countries such as Saudi Arabia, have fuelled the spread of Islam, which by its very nature is fundamentalist. Those who disagree have not read the Koran.
That of course doesn’t mean that people calling themselves Muslims aren’t good people, but it does mean that they don’t believe in the “word” or nor do they follow it to the letter.
I didn’t see the cartoons as being effective, but for sarcasm or caricature to be good, it must capture an element of reality or as I like to say, in the vernacular of a backwoodsman, cut close to the bone.
Yes, the Muslims, for whom our president acts as an official apologist and makes every effort to neutralize and sanitize every heinous barbaric act committed by the homicidal maniacs of Islam, have a thin skin; especially when weaknesses in character and morality are exposed. Yet, they desperately want to bring their form of sanctimony to the West; obviously, it is not to enjoy our freedoms, their idea of freedom is a totalitarian, authoritarian, draconian, type of religious thugocracy, a system our president seems to admire. So why do we need them in our country?
@Nanny:
Nan, I don’t think this answered my question regarding 1/7th of zakat going to the funding of “jihad”. This is a list laying out what zakat is used for- but unless I’m missing something, not a list that shows that zakats are evenly distributed 1 thru 7; or that it must go toward all of these.
I contacted a Muslim friend who converted on account of her boyfriend and asked her about zakat. Her reply was that “different cultures put their own twist on the religion. Acknowledged zakat is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam and said it basically means charity. What she’s been told by her Islamic scholars is that Mohammed said “that even if you don’t have any money to give, then smile, because that is considered charity too.” No, I’m not going to challenge her to find me a direct quote to cite. My friend is a poor college student and her family is struggling. And my guess is she probably pays very little in monetary charity. If this is how she and her Islamic brethren are practicing the faith, then more power to them. We should encourage that sort of interpretation than the one that should be feared.
I honestly don’t think the concept of zakat is monolithic in practice. I’d still like to see how all Muslims paying zakat end up having 1/7th of their charitable givings, given over to the funding of Islamic jihad. Especially given that jihadism (i.e., Islamic terror and the Jihad movement) is not being supported by all Muslims.
Also, does #6 even have to translate as modern (violent) “jihadism”?