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Paris Terror Attacks

Title of Study

The Paris Terror Attacks, January 7th 2015: Spawned by Hatred or Just Cultural Indifference?

Author: James Glass
University: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Professor: Frederic Guerrero Sole

Abstract

This study examines the Paris terror attacks surrounding the Charlie Hebdo weekly newspaper that publishes satirical news articles and cartoons, used to mock religion, politics and culture. Two masked gunmen went into the headquarters and fired up to 50 shots, killing eleven people and injuring eleven others, and shouted "God is great" during their attack (BBC News Online, 14th January 2015). Through an essay analysis, this study will discuss intercultural aspects of friction of Islam through examining previous examples. The study will highlight the historical viewpoint of intercultural acceptance with the adaptations necessary to acculturate. The idea that one country is different from another country or one human being in is different from another human being only through intercultural communication differences are the key aspect with respect to understanding the recent attacks.

Keywords

Paris, Charlie Hebdo, attacks, religion, Islam, gunmen, intercultural, friction.

Introduction

On the 7th of January 2015 reports began to flash the social media sites and online newspapers of an attack at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris, France. "The murders in Paris are not an isolated incident but part of a global trend of young Muslims disenchanted with the modern world", (Husain 2015, Para. 9). A terrible act of violence captured on mobile phones and instantly fed to social sites such as twitter via the various online newspaper institutions. "We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" and "Allahu Akbar", (BBC News online, 14th January, 2015). The speed and terrible acts of violence shocked Paris and the world. In many ways we live in a world whereby the medium of media itself is being used to propagated, transmit the radical thinking of certain religions and extremist ideas.

The Charlie Hebdo newspaper had mocked the Prophet Muhammad in 2007. In recent history, a similar event had occurred, in terms of the repercussions from Islam fanatics, Lindekilde, Mouritsen and Barrero, (2009) stated that in Denmark, some 10 years previously, in 2005, when the culture editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Flemming Rose, commissioned the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which were printed on 30 September 2005, and did not imagine "the publication would eventually lead to the worst foreign policy crisis in Denmark since the Second World War" (p. 291). Also according to Lindekilde, Mouritsen and Barrero, (2009) who stated that:

In February 2008, three people were arrested in Denmark for planning to kill the illustrator, Kurt Westergaard, who in 2005 drew the caricature that has become iconic of the controversy; the Prophet Muhammad with a fizzing bomb in his turban (p. 292).

In this respect, the critical event or action, not only creates new ways to understand, see and imagine the social world, but it also initiates a significant divide between a "before" and an "after", (Andersson et al., 2012, p. 13). On the 8th February, 2008, Charlie Hebdo, published a "special issue" reproducing the 12 Danish cartoons "by solidarity and on principle" (Miera and Pala, 2009 p. 338). On the front page, a cartoon entitled "Muhammad outflanked by the fundamentalists" showed the prophet holding his hands to his head saying: "It is hard to be loved by fools" (Charlie Hebdo, 2006). The newspaper's position was justified in these words: "The aim is to show that freedom of expression must be stronger than intimidation". Some Muslim organizations demanded seizure of the edition, considering it a case of "racial and religious abuse" (Miera and Pala, 2009 p. 338). Conversely, the 2006 global after effects of the cartoon crisis, triggered by offensive cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist, combined with an suspected plot to blow up US-bound airliners, have made certain societies and indeed people fear not only Europe's homegrown radicals, but Islam itself, a religion increasingly seen as posing a direct threat to Western liberal democracy, (Boukhars, 2009 p. 298).

The first section of the paper briefly outlines the overall of the issues. The next section will analyze the historical background of some events in history and relating the concepts. Finally, there will be a conclusion section to bring together and justify the theme and overall points being made throughout.

Issues

Is Islam as a religion itself the issue? Or are the people who kill in the name of God the problem? Or is it simply an acculturation issue? The brothers who carried out the attacks on the 7th of January 2015, were not born radicals, they grew up within their own cultural confounds as Islam worshipers. A study by Bohannan (as cited in Hofstede and McCrae, 2004) describes the current situation that is happening in our societies across the world with regards to the indifference to religion. "Children, when they born, are without culture and hence are without personality, and almost without social relationships. The very fact of birth may be described as the termination of a biophysical relationship and, in the usual course of events, its replacement with a social relationship. Social relationships, then, expand with maturation; new culture is demanded in which to respond to other people so that the relationships are possible" (p. 20). In addition Berry (1997) stated that "As a result of immigration, many societies have become culturally plural. That is, people of many cultural backgrounds come to live together in a diverse society" (p. 8). Hence the bringing together of different religions, cultural backgrounds in the first, second or third generation can be considered variations to the level of integration, in an already established cultural system. The people of France have gained an added fear due to the Charlie Hebdo attack and subsequent days the occurred after it. For the people in France there has been mixed feelings that the country has been under "Muslim siege" and has been propelled by a wave of xenophobia and fears washing over the European continent, (Boukhars, 2009 p. 299).

What issues can this cause, in terms of integration and assimilation? Hervik (2012) noted that for most of Muslims around the world, the underlying causes of anger and resentment originate more from their feelings of Western arrogance and lack of understanding and respect. If cultural differences this small can cause offensives to the original population, imagine what the mocking of a religious figure could do, as seen in recent weeks. Reported online via the BBC, "Earlier on Friday, a man claiming to be Coulibaly told French TV station BFMTV that he was a member of the Islamic State militant group, and that he had "co-ordinated" his attack with the Kouachi brothers", (BBC News Online, 10 January, 2015). We live in a world of many countries with many different customs, religions and cultures. Encapsulated in each country is a society and within society that is made up of many different types of people and beliefs. As observed by Castells (2006) "culturally constructed identities are fundamental to the way people think about things (p. 57). If we consider the following concept by Redfield, Linton, and Herskovits, (1936) that elaborates on the changes in social patterns:

Acculturation comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups (p. 149).

The previous statement captures academically how people, religion and indeed society can come together yet simultaneously be divided. The following statement sums up the idea of individuals, culture and adaptation, "What happens to individuals, who have developed in one cultural context when they attempt to live in a new cultural context" (Berry, 1997 p. 6).

Historical

If we look at the United States as an example, it is made up of many states with different laws and ways of life. According to Bennett (1998) in the United States there are many ethnicities such as African American, Asian American, American Indian and so forth. These people may share a national culture identity yet differing due to their ethnic backgrounds. The identity of the USA was built on independence from Great Britain in 1776. Castells (2006) points out: "While there is an element of truth in this, identity is built upon personal experience, which in turn draws on a history, a culture, and has linguistic and geographic components. Even so, one can ask how an identity is constructed, who constructs it, and how it can be pinned down. Another concept that we can consider is the process of constructing identity is where the problems begin and thus where one needs to hone one's analysis" (p. 62).

Furthermore according to Bennett (1998) the acts of slavery or the American Indian genocide has taken a long time for the strong culture of American society to accept that is was fundamentally wrong and has been seen as improper and racist period in its history as a country (p. 7). There was no way for American Indians to neither assimilate nor integrate as it was forced upon them by the influx of the westerners and their need for capitalization and greed of the lands. The human interaction factor is associated with the patterns of behavior and can be seen as a variable in the growth and development of people in society.

The use of the term "Islamophobia" (Runnymede Trust, 1996) and hatred for Muslims have become more prominent since the events of September 11, 2001. A door that was opened, due to the attacks on that day, yet there always has been religious differences, conflicts and misunderstandings during our history as human beings. Kapferer (2010) remarked that the event of 9/11 marked a turning point in the awareness of ethnic and religious minorities, in retrospect, the approach, in which President George W. Bush's administration portrayed and reacted to the 9/11 attacks, made them a significant event in history which still continues to create meaning yet has had consequences on a global scale since that time period (p. 211).

Moreover, Barbero (2002) examined a situation based on intercultural indifference that of the Sarajevo conflict, where once orthodox Christians and Muslim societies had coexisted in relative peace and harmony surrounded by other faiths and cultures. Then within a short period of time serious confrontations between neighbors, friends and communities happened due to the premise that ethnic purity could be endangered, and that to save it they were allowed to condemn, expel or annihilate others, despite being lifelong neighbors (p. 632).

If our societies are indeed becoming plural then it is the small customs and mannerisms that can cause as much offense as acts themselves. "Differences such as in wearing a headscarf and eating halal-food are seen as in themselves causing conflict. This logic assumes that cultural difference generates conflict. Those who wear the headscarf and ask for halal-food create problems for themselves and risk evoking negative feelings among their Danish hosts", (Hervik 2004 p. 30). In addition, Barbero (2002) globalization "aggravates" and "distorts" identities of a group of people and culture already established throughout history. If we take the events seen in Sarajevo and Kosovo of the ethnic cross mix of cultural identities and mass murder due to this fact, is the identities that are struggling to be recognized, but whose recognition is complete only when all others have been expelled from their land, allowing them to become self-enclosed and isolated from other types of cultures (p. 623).

A series of survey studies were carried out between 1967 and 1973 by Geert Hofstede, (cited in Hofstede and McCrae, 2004) regarding national culture differences. The study used a vast database that collected a series of employee attitude surveys, by (IBM) in its subsidiaries, over 71 countries, containing the results on a total of around 117,000 questionnaires. The surveys tired to "tap" into the "basic" and "situational" values of each employee that took part. (p. 61). An analysis and interpretation of the data revealed four main dimensions; "Power distance", "Uncertainty avoidance", "Individualism versus collectivism" and "Masculinity versus femininity" plus their opposites (p. 62). Defined by Hofstede and McCrae (2004) "Power distance", describes that we are critics yet on the other hand, we are teachers of society and culture and have a responsibility to educate:

A society's level of unfairness is approved by the followers as much as by the leaders and a society's power distance level is bred in its families through the extent to which its children are socialized toward obedience or toward initiative (p. 62).

Do people of certain religions need to deal with an underlying fear factor against them or their beliefs? Sometimes a society can be cruel and unfair, insulting or show discrimination. Furthermore, "Uncertainty avoidance, deals with a society's tolerance for ambiguity" Indicating to what extent a culture or society programs its people to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable, accepted or unaccepted. People within these cultures and societies are more indifferent and contemplative, and are not expected by their environment to express emotions. In addition, Hofstede and McCrae (2004) "Individualism versus collectivism refers to the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups" this relates globally not just to the events in Paris but what is happening currently in the Middle East with Iraq, Iran and the Islamic State that is provoking terror through religion. The study also highlights the role of men and women in terms that it can be defined by "masculinity versus femininity" refers to the distribution of "emotional roles between the sexes", (p. 62).

Identity and culture are intertwined and shaped by our surroundings. When we decide to live in another country, there are different stages of acculturation that occur. If culture is such a powerful creator or shaper of behavior: Do individuals continue to act in the new setting as they did in the previous one? Do they change their behavioral mindset to fit into the new setting? Perhaps there is some complex pattern of change in how people go about their lives in the new society (Berry, 1997 p. 6). Our world today is a place of adaption and integration, in many senses, with religions and their followers being protected by laws in civilized countries, Islam has a voice, in many respects, Husain (2015) suggests this concept throughout the European Union:

Today Muslims live freely in every European country because of the very freedoms that the terrorists struck at. Without the freedom to blaspheme and believe, Muslims would be seen as heretics and would be unable to flourish as faith communities in the west; the pogroms and wars of religion in Europe's history bear testament to European life without freedom (Para. 4).

Conclusion

In France, the fear of Islam and its extremism factors are not a new phenomenon. The bombings that took place in 1995, in the Paris Metro system, awakened the French to the threat of radical Islamism (Boukhars, 2009 p. 298). September 11, 2001 changed the face of society and radicalized the way cultures think and fear "radical Islamism". The native French projected their fears onto the main culprits who were of course the Muslim youth of the areas affected who were, suspected of aligning with the extremists, (Boukhars, 2009 p. 299). In addition Rytter and Pedersen (2014) points out the importance of policies on both sides:

On the one hand, European nation states have introduced far-reaching pre-emptive policies and legislation in order to protect and secure the nation state and their institutions and citizens against religiously motivated terrorism. On the other hand, individuals and groups have taken measures to protect the religious practices, traditions, beliefs and icons that they feel are being threatened by external forces (p. 2035).

Furthermore, there are many different cultural groups that can exist in plural societies and vary due to three factors: "voluntariness, mobility, and permanence", (Berry 1997) p. 8). When we really analyze our world today there is not a country, city, town or village that has not had issues with people from different cultures trying to integrate or be accepted.

For the brothers of the Paris were born and raised in France yet along the way became radicalized within their own sub-societal culture. Taught to hate? Or just bombarded with societal conditions that made it difficult to integrate and assimilate. They travelled to Yemen on occasions there receiving military training preparing for an action, separating themselves from their upbringing in France. Integration can only be "freely" chosen if the dominant society is open and welcoming in its acceptance to other cultures (Berry, 1991). Some groups have entered into the acculturation process voluntarily, such as immigration, while others experience acculturation without seeking it.

Moreover, Chebotareva (2014) states that the globalization happening within our societies are incorporating vast amount of positive effects associated with negative trends. The continual mixing of ethnic fronts that leads to the growth of national thought process among the population, up to its extreme customs and way of life. An opinion brought forth by Husain (2015), suggests a different outlook for true Islam and Muslims in general:

Islam and Muslims are secure in the west because of freedom of speech, conscience, press and religion; to attack those freedoms is to attack Islam's existence. The dangerous ignorance of the extremists is not limited to their failure to understand the west. They do not know the prophet for whom they claim to kill (Para 4).

Within plural societies, cultural groups along with their individualized members, in both the dominant and non-dominant situations, must deal with the issue of how to acculturate (Berry, 1997 p. 9). Further suggested by Caldwell (2009) we can consider the following concept that we are "not dealing with an ordinary immigration problem … but with an adversary culture" (p. 171). For many people, acceptance of immigration, sharing their country with another human being from a different culture, into one's own culture, is normally received - broadly speaking, though, in my opinion, it can be a long and arduous process that relies on the understanding of an already established moral society for this acceptance without interference from immoral and radical beliefs.

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