As everyone knows by now, the French magazine Charlie Hebdo was been attacked by Jihadist terrorists this morning. 12 people are dead. As of the time of writing, the terrorists are still at large (which tells you a lot about the difficulties even a well-prepared city faces in tackling such attacks. The French are hardly amateurs at counter-terrorism). My friend Abbas Reza, chief editor at 3quarksdaily, wrote
http://www.dawn.com/news/1155650
Salman Rushdie just tweeted:
Religion, a medieval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms. This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today.
I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity.
‘Respect for religion’ has become a code phrase meaning ‘fear of religion’. Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.’
