An estimated three million people took part in unity marches across France after 17 people were killed in an attack on a satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.
World leaders participated in the Paris rally, linking arms in an act of solidarity.
On January 13, about 25,000 demonstrators marched in Dresden, Germany in an anti-Islam rally to protest the Paris attack and what they saw as the Islamisation of Europe.
In her New Year message, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel told Germans, People who come to us out of deprivation or fear, who need protection, deserve to be treated here with dignity.
On December 16, 2014, seven Taliban attackers wearing bomb vests attacked an Army Public School in Peshawar. The gunmen went from class to class and killed 152 people – 133 of them children. The school killings were condemned across the world, with US President Barack Obama saying terrorists had once again shown their depravity”.
We can draw a huge parallel, if we compare the Pakistan school attack with the one, which was carried out on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. In both the cases, civilians were murdered. Human lives were lost. However there was a big difference of death toll in both the incidents.
But when the Pakistan school carnage happened, not a single leader across the globe visited the Asian country to show solidarity, while in France, politicians despite of their caste, creed and colour made a scramble to show their unity against terrorism.
On the contrary, in Peshawar, dozens of people rallied in favour of those who carried out the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
The event was indicative of the anger that portrayals of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) can ignite in some parts of the Muslim world, particularly in Pakistan where tough blasphemy laws make insulting the Prophet (PBUH) a crime punishable by death.
One of the angry protesters said, If freedom of expression stops at the mention of the Holocaust, then it should also stop at the honour of our Prophet (PBUH).
Blasphemy is blasphemy and it is not acceptable in any form. We should respect all religions whatever their ideology is. Some rallied in favour of those who were killed in France and some against them.
French president Francois Hollande on Saturday defends the Charlie Hebdo blasphemous picture and vowed to defend freedom of expression. We cannot justify those pictures which aggravate anger among the communities. These kinds of acts will add more fuel to the fire and can escalate violence and nothing else.
Extremism is growing throughout the world and it is our responsibility to see where our society is heading to. The propaganda, which the extremists are using to attract young generation to its fold, should be taken care of. Before making any decision, we should always look what lies beneath and what will be the outcome.
The attack in France on Charlie Hebdo, the Peshawar school massacre, Boko Harams Nigeria killings and so on there is a spiral in terrorism. Innocents are getting killed in every corner of the world. For petty interests, people are made scapegoats and used for bombings.
In Nigeria, terrorists are using bombs to empty residential areas, besides targeting military installations. The entire families have been wiped out by Boko Haram terrorists since the militancy erupted in the violence-hit country.
Amnesty International in its latest report claimed that the recent attack by Boko Haram terrorists on the town of Baga in the north-eastern state of Borno of Nigeria is the deadliest one. The Watchdog quoting eyewitnesses said that 2,000 people were massacred and 3,700 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the towns by the terror group.
Many organisations have pointed out the deep silence of many of Nigerias politicians. Last week, Nigerias president, Goodluck Jonathan, expressed his condolences for the victims of France but stayed mum on the Boko Haram attacks on Baga.
Media analyst Ethan Zuckerman says that the president is understandably wary of discussing Boko Haram, as it reminds voters that the conflict has erupted under his management and that his government has been unable to subdue the terror group.
Nigeria is all set to hold its elections on February 14. Many politicians in Nigeria have criticised the president for celebrating his nieces wedding over weekend, in the aftermath of the killings.
Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic archbishop of Jos in central Nigeria has criticised the West for its stance on Nigeria killings. He called the international community to show the same spirit and resolve against Boko Haram as it had done after the attacks in France.
The world leaders in France showed their might when the terrorist attack happened. But in Pakistan, which is a Muslim majority country, why didnt the world leaders show up. The world should not condemn attacks only in France or in any other European country, but they should always come forward wherever a terror attack strikes. After all terrorism in all its forms is condemnable and cannot be justified.
The world should come forward and devise a military strategy to defeat the extremists, but past experience suggests that the killings in France, Peshawar and Nigeria will go exactly the same way as the terror attacks before.
Hamid Ansari, former Managing Editor of the Kashmir Observer, is currently Editor Gulf Time, Abu Dhabi.
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