It was the unfortunate Friday night when large number of people bustling the street of central Paris, with locals and visitors alike attending concert, having meals in restaurant, spectators enjoying the sight of football match and pedestrians walking their set destinations, that bangs of gun shots and explosion ripped through different locations, killing over 128 people, injuring multiplied numbers. It was only then the stirrer of chats began roaming in international and social media, where everyone found extending sympathies with the families of victims of Paris attack and wide denunciation.
The terrorist set loose ruthlessly murdered century of hapless people in coordinated series of precedential attack. Reportedly, the first blast was heard at 9.17 p.m. local time outside the Stade de France national sports stadium, where France and Germany were playing a friendly soccer international in the presence of President Francois Hollande killing at least five people. Reportedly few black-masked gunmen stormed into the concert hall and opened an indiscriminate fire killing at least 100. The Rue de Charonne and terrace of the Casa Nostra pizzeria was some other site that got targeted. Regretfully, the streets of Paris that bore the brunt of attack were blood bathed with innocent ordinary citizens who had nothing to do with political gimmicks shaping behind the closed doors.
So far, no claim of responsibility has been made, but witnesses at the Bataclan music venue heard the killers shout religious slogans whilst condemning France’s partaking in the U.S.-led coalition fighting self-styled Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The terrorists of IS, seems more likely to being behind the attack bidding to warn West of plans of attacks in Syria or elsewhere. France has been a potential state supporting US in the mission to fight against terrorist hideouts in Syria and in Iraq.
It could garner a potential reason leaving France susceptible to attacks. If the attack is linked to France’s role in Syria, why was it yet again targeted above other members of the U.S.-led coalition? France has been the only state in Europe -too vocal to talk on various sentimental subjects including the former sacrilegious publication that aired mass protests across Muslim world.
In the former Paris attack, on January 7, three masked gunmen attacked and killed the editorial staff of a weekly satirical journal Charlie Hebdo which ridiculed Judaism, Catholicism and Islam. The publication of highly provocative cartoons published in the previous days past, which had deeply offended Muslims, served to be behind the daylight massacre. Whatever, the reason be, the carnage never justifies nor can be deemed a legal course to avenge the sacrilegious cartoon or political support on war against terror.
The deed exercised by extremists finds no validation; in fact contradicts Islamic interpretation. In defense of religion devastating religious values, a self-cheating prophecy, can’t earn acceptance in the civilized world.
The countless innocent killed did not quench the blood thirst of these self claimed religious champions and sane; Al-Qaida, ISIS and Taliban whose bloody tale of mass massacre, outpatient the humanists across glob.
The Muslim world should come to a conclusion to disown and alienate these evil practionners, manipulating the sacred religion for personal gains, adding into the already the miseries of Muslim. The Muslim population of European countries will directly be left to the mercy of hatemonger, with multiplied complications. The six million Muslims living in France and elsewhere in Europe understandably dread a backlash and fear that the sense of Islamophobia already very visible in their country would further deepen.
The tragic incident will deepen the polarization of the said society and imperil the Muslims residents. Indeed, those who would suffer the most from this event would be the majority of the West’s Muslim population, most of which is made up of law-abiding, ordinary people who believe in the policy of live and let live and who do not subscribe to the distorted version of their faith that is being propagated by a handful of misguided extremists. That is a nasty business involving large numbers of deportations, cancellation of French citizenship, and other threats that inevitably would affect many individuals with no direct connection to terrorism.
The effort would be costly, but ultimately it would succeed: most French Muslims simply want to stay in France and earn a living. To revive its credibility, the Muslims abroad should condemn terrorism and extremism on every forum and shouldn’t leave a vacuum to be infiltrated by hate monger and religio-political opportunists.
It depicts that France, or any other state, could defeat the terrorists is obvious, to stand united against terrorists irrespective of cast, creed and religion.
The wretched incidents received wide condemnation from across the world. The US President Barack Obama led a chorus of global condemnation, saying it was “an attack on all of humanity”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said they were “deeply shocked” by the attacks.
“I am shocked by events in Paris tonight,” the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks and called for any hostages to be immediately released. President Ghani and CEO Abduallah didn’t stay behind condemning the Paris attack. The premiers have previously pledged to the protesting masses with seven beheaded souls, they would try to reverse the security situation. Undeniably, formation of uniform policy that likely serves the interest of greater population can rid the world out of the menace of growing terrorism.