The Charlie Hebdo Affair in Turkey: Balancing Human Rights and Religious Rites

This paper discusses the Freedom of Expression and Morality in the West with special reference to Charlie Hebdo attack and its implications. It highlights some of the reactions to the attack, with many western Scholars calling on Muslims to apologize. The paper has rather drawn their attention to the root cause of the attack which seems to have been ignored by them, being the attitude of the western society to Islam. Solution has been suggested for the attention of the Western Powers and other International Human Rights Organizations to set out Standards of respect for people’s faith for which one may be indicted for violating the moral laws.

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Des "versets sataniques" à Charlie Hebdo: 1989-2015 - Protéger la liberté d´'expression artistique: une utopie?

Revista Jurídica da UFERSA ◽

10.21708/issn2526-9488.v4.n8.p1-18.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (8) ◽

pp. 01-18

Author(s):

Sylvie Debs

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Human Rights ◽

Salman Rushdie ◽

Van Gogh ◽

Charlie Hebdo

La condamnation à mort de Salman Rushdie par la fatwa de l’Ayatollah Khomeiny pour les Versets sataniques a marqué l’entrée dans l’ère post 1989 avec l’apparition d’un terrorisme d’État à l’échelle planétaire qui a secoué le monde entier comme lors de l’attentat des journalistes et dessinateurs de Charlie Hebdo en 2015. Les assassinats d’intellectuels et de journalistes en Algérie entre 1991 et 2002, celui de Théo Van Gogh aux Pays Bas en 2004, la controverse des caricatures de Mahomet en 2005 au Danemark participent du même récit fondateur d’un islam radical qui réfute la liberté d’expression artistique. Face à ce danger qui touche aussi bien les pays musulmans que non musulmans, l’organisme international de défense et protection de la liberté d’expression des écrivains comme le PEN International s’est renforcé, et d’autres, comme Index on Censorship, Article 19, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Sans Frontières, Le Parlement International des Écrivains, International Cities of Refugee Network, Cartooning for Peace, Scholars at Risk, Human Rights Defenders ou encore Artists at Risk Connection, ont vu le jour devant l’augmentation exponentielle du nombre de personnes menacées. L’article analyse le cas de Salman Rushdie ainsi que les causes de la menace d’attaque terroriste à l’encontre des écrivains, définit les nouveaux contours de la censure, puis présente les mécanismes de protection mis en place à travers le monde par des organisations à but non lucratif.

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Determining a Newfound European Islam

International Journal of Public Theology ◽

10.1163/15697320-12341448 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 324-337 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tahir Abbas

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Western Europe ◽

Civil Liberties ◽

Religious Values ◽

Current Period ◽

Muslims In Europe ◽

The Relationship ◽

Charlie Hebdo

This article explores the implications of the Charlie Hebdo attacks for Muslims in Europe already experiencing a whole host of challenges in relation to the securitisation of integration, Islamophobia, and political and economic marginalisation. It is argued that while the incident appreciably dented the relationship between Muslims and the French state, the events have wider implications for Muslims across Western Europe regarding acceptance, tolerance and equality. It places pressures on both the Muslims in Western Europe, and the states in which they reside, to draw inwards, narrowing the terms of engagement, ultimately handing further powers to governments to legislate and police without always considering human rights or civil liberties. Simultaneously, Muslims, facing the brunt of exclusion in society in the current period, run the risk of entrenchment. Rather than interpreting these events as a separation of communities, the opportunities exist to engage in meaningful dialogue. It has the potential to promote humanist religious values, all the while participating in society within the limits of Islam, which remain relatively broad and inclusive for the vast majority of European Muslims. Alternatively, dominant societies run the danger of casting their nets wide, inducing Muslims to see integration and engagement as the least desirable option. This article suggests ways forward to empower the Muslim centre ground in order to push violent extremist elements further to the margins.

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Cartoons, Comics and Human Rights after the Charlie-Hebdo Massacre

Religion and Human Rights ◽

10.1163/18710328-12341290 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 229-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Keane

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Freedom Of Expression ◽

Current Debate ◽

History Of ◽

Rights Discourse ◽

Short Comment ◽

Human Rights Discourse ◽

Charlie Hebdo

This short comment assesses the situation of cartoons, comics and human rights after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. It engages questions on the meaning and history of cartoons, as well as freedom of expression, to find a new pathway beyond the parameters of the current debate. In particular, it asks why the protection of freedom of expression on Europe became contingent on drawing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Rather than assigning a role for law in preventing such cartoons, or for freedom of expression in protecting them, it argues that desisting from drawing them would have no discernible impact. It highlights other means by which cartoons and comics can advance the human rights discourse, including pioneering comics authors in this regard. In conclusion it argues for an end to the largely dysfunctional terms of the debate and envisages a more progressive horizon.

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