Epigraph:
Every human life is precious and killing one is like triggering a genocide. (Al Quran 5:33)
Source: BBC
France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders after scores of people were killed in multiple gun and bomb attacks in Paris.
At least 100 people are reported to have died at the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris.
Gunmen took many hostages there before being overpowered when police stormed the building.
Others died in attacks near the Stade de France, with some reports suggesting a suicide blast, and at restaurants.
Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and military personnel are being deployed across the city.
Live: Follow the latest developments here.
Eyewitness accounts from the scene
Categories: Europe
Our heart felt sympathies to the families of deceased. I just heard in CNN at least 153 dead.
Moderates of all religions should stand in solidarity to defeat the terrorists, once for all.
This is not an isolated incident. It follows a trend and will be repeated over and over again to the delight of those who publicly condemn it but privately lend their support.
Recent reports from Indonesia are that scores of Churches have been destroyed and Christians attacked leading to some deaths. These are not restricted to Aceh where sharia has been enshrined as the law but it occurs in the other provinces as well.
All these are instigated by imams, who are the fountains of wisdom to those who look up to them, with the connivance of law enforcement, who either look the other way or simply give support to the attackers, and a government which preaches secularism but advances the cause of its religion.
Permission is not given for the constriction of a new church except 60 people of another faith, presumably muhammadans, and the regency or the municipal religious office give approval. These are the same people who are opposed to the presence of Christians.
One can imagine what a herculean task this can be.
The objective is to cleanse Indonesia of all vestiges of Christianity in accordance with the quran and hadiths. The world remains silent.
What really is ‘moderation’ when no difference can be spotted between the ‘moderates’ and extremists?
As a pointer, there has been a clear lack of interest judging by the reaction on this website to the Paris story since it was broken over 24 hours ago. Compare that to the instantaneous condemnation poured out on this site when a schoolboy was handcuffed and escorted off the school premises on suspicion of possessing an explosive device. That story ran for days without moderation garnering over 30,000 twits in less than 24 hours.
With mayhem being unleashed daily by adherents of the same religion independently in places which are far flung from each other, it is safe to conclude that the fault lies with the creed.
The worn out mantra is that islam is a religion of peace. Somehow, the face it shows is anything but peaceful.
1.5 billion or so peaceful Muslims and 8 crazy lunatics that call themselves Muslims. (ok, plus the few thousand ISIS guys – still no percentage at all compared to the 1.5 billion Muslims who long for peace. The question should be how many of the thousands of ‘fanatics’ were receiving CIA weapons training and CIA weapons? Clear the rubbish in your own front yard first please.
In ‘moderate’ Indonesia, it is reported that uncountable number of Churches have been destroyed and Christians killed, not just in Aceh, where sharia has been declared the law of the land, but in other provinces as well. These attacks are carried out with impunity on the orders of imams with the connivance of law enforcement and a government which proclaims to be secular.
The objective is to cleanse Indonesia of all vestiges of Christianity. That is what the quran and hadiths command.
No single day passes without mayhem being unleashed by adherents of a particular religion.
With so much violence generated by people of the same religion in places which are far flung from each other, it is safe to conclude that the problem is with the creed. Can it then be honestly said that there is a difference between ‘moderates’ and terrorists or extremists in muhammadanism?
Just as a pointer, this story was broken over 24 hours ago. How many have reacted to it on this site compared to what happened when a school boy was handcuffed and merely escorted off the school on suspicion of possessing an explosive device? The reaction to that story was instantaneous and ran for days.
What exactly is moderation?
We deplore the 130+ innocent lives in Paris, as we deplore those in Beirut, Baghdad, Sinai, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Israel …
Rafiq,
What exactly differentiates you from ISIS or the other terrorist groups? All of you have a common denominator: intolerance.
Namelee you are practicing intolerance at its worst and stereotyping all Muslims. I am for US constitution. I do not want Shariah Law in any country of the world.
I and all of our Editors want Universal Declaration of Human Rights for every human being on our planet earth; which are being denied to the Christians in many a Muslim countries and to African Americans in USA based on the race.
We also want equal human rights for every Muslim in India, China, France, Myanmar and every other country.
We also want every one who helps terrorists in any form in any country to be brought to justice.
Who is intolerant here?
We believe every human life to be sacred and of infinite value and not to be exploited for anyone’s political interests or motivations. Suggested Reading:
The talk of wanting peace for all is quite a mantra that has been overused with no results. Even those who claim to be the most ardent supporters of various rights for all and constitutionalism only do so for public relations sake. Indonesia is an example quoted which has not been denied.
Equally not denied is the fact that even on this site there has been little sympathy for the Paris attack victims. Yours was the only one for more than 24 hours. Rafiq’s came as an after thought in reaction to my article. Apart from mine, those are the only ones so far.
I ask again, where are all the moderates? Why is there no outpouring of condemnation by them as was the case with the fraudster who received messages of solidarity on this same site for days? By their unconcern, it is the muslims who have stereotyped themselves. Why would mass murder receive less attention and sympathy than handcuffing a student out of a school?
The muslims in the countries you have listed enjoy the type of freedom that non muslims can never dream of in a muhammadan country. India, which you listed, had a muhammadan President. Would a Hindu President be a thinkable thought in Pakistan or Bangladesh?
You can’t possibly talk about believing in the American constitution and all the rights of man, when your website practices the same policy that you say is being perpetrated against black Americans. There could not be a more visible example of intolerance than denying bloggers the opportunities to defend themselves when they are viciously attacked here.
Erdogan and Mahathir Muhammad do not call themselves ‘moderates’. Others call them and they reject the appellation as being insulting because ‘islam is one’. They base their position on the quran and hadiths. As long as those two collections are concerned there are no moderates. On what basis would a muhammadan say he rejects sharia which is derived from the quran and hadiths? That stuff lacks sincerity and is for Western ears only.
Zia,
Is there a better example of intolerance than your scrapping my defence to your accusations?