With Islamophobia continuing to rise, the recent attack on Charlie Hebdo did no favors for Muslims anywhere. However, let’s take a moment to step back from both sides of the situation, and examine the criticisms of the Muslim world instead. It’s a very difficult task to read through filthy commentaries on social media and news outlets, without losing faith in humanity. Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but when speech becomes threatening to a certain targeted group, the vicious cycle of massacres and hate only continue. Isn’t that how this began, with disrespectful and public bullying of a group of people? This hit the limit of tolerance to a very small number, thus leading to retaliation. Furthermore, isn’t bullying what has caused so many massacres on school campuses as well? Why don’t we stop pointing the finger to an entire religious population over the act of a few individuals, and start asking ourselves how we can halt these crimes from recurring? When school shootings have occurred in the past, the responsibility and blame was not placed on the shooter’s religion, and Charlie Hebdo shouldn’t be an exception. Society needs to step back and put an end to bullying on school campuses, social media, and in newspapers and magazines if it wishes to live in peace someday.
