The Aftermath of Charlie Hebdo: Security, Prejudicial Violence, and the Hope for Peace in France
Almost three weeks after a wave of terrorist attacks in France ravaged the offices of controversial satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris, many are reflecting on the propagation and consequences of extremist violence. In the January 7th attack at Charlie Hebdo, the ensuing police chase, and two days later the hostage crisis which developed at kosher supermarket Hyper Cacher, al-Qaeda-in-Yemen extremists Said Kouachi, Cherif Kouachi, and Amedy Coulibaly not only killed 17 innocent individuals, but also sparked a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment and raised security concerns across France.
Despite France’s immediate alert, European security was also strengthened in order to find the briefly escaped assailants and stop any similar attacks. Not only was international transport delayed and Internet communication closely monitored during the search for the three attackers and their associates, but top-ranking French and European officials intently reviewed their counter-terrorism policies. Officials pointed towards recent figures which suggest that around 3,000-5,000 EU nationals have joined ISIS, an extremist group which largely operates in Syria and Iraq. These officials are worried not only about increased terrorism abroad, but even more so about the implications of returning European ISIS recruits who might elope existing security checkpoints and wreak domestic violence. However, a sizable portion of European fighters who have joined the calling of self-proclaimed Caliph Al-Baghdadi have exhibited disillusionment and regret, but their willingness to come back home has been met with skepticism and prison time.
Europol head Rob Wainwright, in reference both to the recent attacks and the growing threat of violence, stated, “To put it into context, it is certainly the most serious terrorist threat Europe has faced since 9/11, for example.” Andrew Parker, head of MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, expressed worry for his own citizens, noting, “My sharpest concern as director general of MI5 is the growing gap between the increasingly challenging threat and the decreasing availability of capabilities to address it.”
On Tuesday, January 13, EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove acted upon such concern and asked that the European Parliament implement legislation to give authorities expanded access to air passengers’ personal details. Another point of discussion among top security officials is the UN Security Council Resolution 2178, adopted in September 2014. It denotes that travelling for terrorism or related activities will be considered as a serious criminal offense, thus justifying the detention of returning AWOL Euro-Islamic militants. France adopted a similar law in November 2014, and now many more European officials are pressing for similar legislation to be implemented across the entire European Union.
The second major effect of the recent violence in Paris is rapidly-increasing anti-Muslim sentiment across France. The National Observatory Against Islamophobia reports that, between the Charlie Hebdo attacks on January 7th and January 20th, a total of 128 anti-Muslim incidents were reported to French authorities. This includes 33 perpetrated attacks, many of them against mosques, and another 95 threats of violence. These numbers exclude incidents not reported to the police, and are thus an underestimation of the full extent of anti-Muslim sentiment. More importantly, less than one month into the new year, the number of anti-Muslim attacks in 2015 already exceeds those perpetrated during the entirety of 2014, with 133 incidents reported. National Observatory president Abdallah Zekri expressed his concerns on the overwhelming growth of prejudicial violence, saying, “Islamophobic acts have reached a peak of hate toward French people of the Muslim confession never before recorded.”
Fortunately, despite the growing xenophobic momentum, there is hope for peace in France. Malek Merabet, the brother of Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim-Algerian police officer slain during the attacks, voiced his calls for reason to the French people and the international community: “I’m addressing all the racists, Islamophobes, and anti-Semites: stop lumping everything together, sparking wars, burning down mosques or synagogues,” he said, continuing, “You attack people; it won’t bring back our dead and it won’t soothe our families.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, often at odds on Muslim-Jewish relations, marched alongside each other during a memorial rally for the attack victims in Paris.
Past events around the world show promise for tolerant inter-religious civil cohesion. Following an Islamist terrorist’s attack at an Australian coffee shop, many Australians participated in a #i’llridewithyou Twitter campaign to show solidarity with innocent Muslim citizens who were scared too scared to ride in public transportation for fear of xenophobic retaliation. In Germany, despite recent millenary rallies orchestrated by the Patriotic Europeans Against The Islamization Of The West (PEGIDA), tens of thousands of Germans have in turn participated in even larger marches against anti-Muslim xenophobia.
Finally, perhaps the most striking story to emerge from the chaos is the one concerning Lassana Bathily, a Muslim man who worked at the kosher supermarket which was attacked by Amedy Coulibaly. When the terrorist sieged the supermarket on January 9thand began to take hostages, Bathily hid fifteen Jewish customers in a walk-in freezer. Bathily then escaped from the store and helped Paris police coordinate the raid that neutralized Coulibaly and rescued all remaining survivors. Today, the Malian-born Bathily is being hailed as a hero. His previous request for French citizenship was expedited and granted during a special ceremony held by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. The public has rallied around Bathily, and a petition on Change.org has 300,000 signatures calling for him to be awarded the French Legion of Honor medal.
Ultimately, the future of French religious interaction remains unclear. France has been characterized as the quintessential lay state, with public displays of religious ideology forbidden as an attempt to encourage civil integration. Nevertheless, Huntington might have been right in claiming that the world is inevitably destined to face a Clash of Civilizations, and thus different cultures cannot naturally coexist. Increased security measures and legitimate attempts towards fostering religious toleration seem to promise a safer future for the French people, who must figure out a way to deal with growing anti-Muslim sentiment despite the rising number of Muslim citizens themselves. It is only with patience, a deep resolve for interreligious understanding and tolerance, and an unwavering commitment to peace and security that the risk of extremist violence in France will be reduced. Granted, a state cannot control the entirety of events which might occur within its borders, but it can very well control the aftermath of its reactions to unintended adversities.