T H E
R A D L E Y
C O L L E G E
CHRONICLE Vol. XXVI No. 1
O
4 December 2015
THE PARIS ATTACKS
n the 13th November 2015, the Western world I also note that the phrase ‘Pray for Paris’ which reacted in an unprecedented way to a terror recently filled our media outlets has, concerningly, attack of proportions not seen Europe since the religious connotations inherent in the word ‘pray’. I 2004 Madrid train bombings. Since minor terror am not comfortable, therefore, that the implicit attacks like the Charlie Hebdo shootings in January of message in this phrase is that our response to the the same year, we have been holding our breath, atrocities in Paris should be a religious one, because it increasingly aware of the creates a subtext of holy war presence of ISIS, and “It is no longer acceptable to which is unhelpful. We do not increasingly aware of the want this turned into have religion as a taboo, a inevitability of another attack. ‘Christianity versus Islam’. And it is because we all knew Equally, we cannot deny the sensitive topic about which how inevitable another attack on religious aspect of the attacks, in we shouldn’t debate” the West was, that we all now order to successfully analyse mourn and pray for Paris: them. The attacks were entirely because we know it could have been us. Paris could religiously motivated. Suicide bombers were willing to have been London; it could have been Berlin; it could give their lives in the name of jihad. And it is jihad have been New York. that we want to disable. Many people have taken to social media to express their outrage at the absence of Western media coverage on the other tragedies that occurred in the same 48 hours as the Paris attacks. In Beirut, Lebanon, 43 people were killed by ISIS in suicide bombings, while a further 19 were killed in Baghdad. The indifference of Western media is certainly concerning. The BBC notified me about the death of 4 people in a small plane crash in East Devon, but failed to report the Beirut bombings. Facebook asked me to show my support to the people of Paris by changing my profile picture, but failed to ask my support for Baghdad or Lebanon. On one level, it is shameful that we are concerned so little about ISIS’ victims in other parts of the world. Conversely, I think criticism of this is disproportionate to the amount which it merits, which is far less. Ultimately, I ought to care much more about someone killed by ISIS in France than someone killed by ISIS in Lebanon. If somebody at Radley died, I would not be criticised if for that day, I mourned his or her life, and ignored all the other people who died that day in Africa. The proximity of Paris evokes empathy, whilst the distance of Beirut evokes sympathy.
The problem is, however, that to destroy this toxic idea of jihad, we need ourselves to undergo a radical change in thinking. It is no longer acceptable to have religion as a taboo, a sensitive topic about which we shouldn’t debate, and in which we shouldn’t interfere. Religion has been proven to be the source of much violence, from the sacking of Jerusalem in the first Crusade, to the current renewed intifada in Jerusalem in 2015. So we need to take the veil off religion, and debate in the open its place in our society: particularly Islam. Why particularly Islam? Because by and large the notion of Christendom ended after we stopped having Christian emperors in Europe after the First World War. Christianity has not manifested itself in violence for a long time. The dar al-Islam, however, the Islamic equivalent of Christendom, does exist. And unfortunately, for millions of Muslims, the dar al-harb also exists. The dar al-harb is Europe; the dar al-harb is any place that is not the dar al-Islam. It is the place where millions of Muslims believe they should go to war. Literally, it translates to the House of War. We need to feel confident enough to bring reason to the debate about religion.
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