The Witch-hunt Staged by the ‘’Charlies’’: Off the Rails Excess or Prelude to the Marching Boots of Fascism?
EUROPE, 16 Feb 2015
Amir M. Maasoumi – TRANSCEND Media Service
28 January 2015, Radio Canada et Médias internationaux : ‘’An eight year old kid questioned by the French police’’ for refusing “to be Charlie”
No. Count me out. I’m neither Charlie, nor a lawless faithless Assassin!
I reject this artificial, simplistic, crude dichotomy.
I refuse to take part in this collective outpouring of unchained feeling, this wave of vengeful, dehumanizing emotion. In this trap of impotent rage which brings out everything that’s bad in us and only gives birth to yet more hate and violence, to this scandalous manipulation and recuperation – for my part I too refuse to say yes.
I am « human » and I want to stay that way!
I refuse to join the ranks of those who use terrorism – whether physical or intellectual, state-controlled or moral – to reduce « the Other » to silence, to trample on his freedom, to polarize, divide, sow the seeds of war and bar the way to dialogue between those who are equal yet different, a dialogue in favor of harmonious co-existence, based on solidarity and respect, fraternal understanding and tolerance.
I resist the lure of this shameful spectacle, this ignoble and repetitive « live story » in homage to the logic of barbarism, of reprisal, of blow for blow and provocation from the one side and the other.’’.
I refuse to be either the Charlie or Assassin which this generalized and generalizing hysteria, devoid of the least shade of nuance, is seeking to inflict on us. I refuse to accept this polarization seeking to mirror deeply entrenched and dangerously ambiguous blocks of unanimous opinion, artificially maintained and nourished mainly by media lies and in large part by those “in the know” with the intention of manipulating people’s minds, adding to the turmoil and diverting the attention of the vast majority already sufficiently disoriented by the daily misery they face. I refuse to associate myself with all these “live news” masquerades based on ignorance, powerlessness, arrogance, double-speak, and blind vengeance.
In this display of indignation and distress I denounce that pig-headed rebuttal of any kind of understanding which consists in cutting – whether deliberately or not – a tragic event from its «context». This obstinate refusal to recognize the fact that what Charlie Hebdo did (and continues to do) far from being ‘’innocent and neutral’, was first and foremost to take and defend positions encamped not in a void but in a highly charged socio-political space; in a climate of tensions, a precise schema of wars of neocolonial conquest, systemic economic crises and the open racism that goes with them, of stigmatization and exclusion, social inequality, islamophobia, hatred and historic relations of unequal forces… In such somber and decisive moments I will never be Der Stürmer *. Therefore I refuse to apply the rule of ‘’double standards’’ and by so doing renounce my humanity and its justice, responsibility and solidarity; my values which distinguish me from those that I condemn and denounce.
I refuse to identify myself with this collective and consensual rape of decency! With this shamefully arbitrary selectivity, this orgy of «white power» organized under the fallacious pretext of the defense of a mythical idealized notion of a kind of ‘’freedom of expression without any guiding markers and outside of all context’’ (which in any case has never existed anywhere at any time) but which basically is designed to relieve the most obscure instincts, complexes, phobias and repressed resentments….
I rise up against these «exceptionalists » for whom the « blood of one man » is more «colored» and precious than the blood of another, against all those for whom thousands, even millions, of innocent victims are often negligible « collateral damage », and against their opposites, those for whom the essence of their «faith» is the«law» of hatred and blood, and not the «way» of love, the celebration of life and joy. I refuse to give in to all these intransigent apostles of myriad forms of violence, each one with his ‘’sacred cows’’, to these «supremacists», these fundamentalists ancient and modern who deny to others what they claim for themselves.
«Reason» is powerless faced with such exaltation, the power of «herds» released and now stampeding, frustrated by the unbearable conditions of their own «suffocating cowsheds»! All kinds of reasoning are vain faced with the wretched desperate mass who rise up against the wrong kind of targets, who fill themselves with illusions searching for the scapegoats to ‘’liberate’’ themselves from their unbearable state of being and ill-being. It’s crazy to reason with these angry people infected with «social anorexia», who are incapable of seeing, of perceiving reality, their own reality, as it really is…!
In these critical times when any considered rational debate seems impossible, void and useless, I refuse to be caught between blades of the same ”nature” only opposite, a pair of scissors with just one side, those manipulators of modern discourse sprung from the pit of barbaric centuries, and at the other end of the pole, those of their adversaries, «those hypocrites who will not fail to exploit a drama and then limit freedom of expression and abolish other rights so dearly won» by allegedly trying to defend them under the pretext of assuring our ‘’security’’. Confronted with the rivalry between these two «malicious, ruthless enemy brothers» alike in every way in their inhumanity and what they seek to impose, I can only resist and boil with fury and indignation!
I refuse to join the ranks of those who take «the menace of terrorism» as the excuse for praising open confrontation, repression and the police state, the militarization of public space … with the intention of paving the way for a state of permanent war, of killing social peace, peace itself! Those who adhere to no principles whatsoever and offer no other solution but vengeance, and violence in all its many shapes and forms.
I am disgusted at so much foolhardiness which at the end of the day only pumps more water on the mill of the ‘’quacks and profiteers’’ of the industries of death, war and ‘’security’’ at the expense of ‘’life’’, liberty and common interests. I protest against so much recklessness which only serves the profits of the military security complex, the only ones to gain from this crazy wholesale polarization.
I refuse to endorse the parade and surreal hypocrisy of these orchestrators, these predators on everything which is true journalism, free media and genuine ‘’freedom of expression’’. I refuse to be impressed by the crocodile tears shed by these opinion-makers most of whom, just like most of their political and technocratic cronies, are apologists of war, notorious war criminals and complicit in crimes against peace and humanity. I oppose bitter but by no means indifferent laughter to all these hysterical collectives who increase suspicion of all kinds of difference in the service of fear, instead of aiming for convergence and responsibility with respect and in the interests of all, to this reiterated comedy which sadly has now turned tragic….
Disgusted by all the mediocrity of all such conformists, by their lack of courage in spite of all the ‘’heroic’’ posturing seen all over the place, I refuse to add my voice to this sinister choral, to these hymns and fanfares to the glory of the warmongers which only widen the gap, oil the mechanisms of conflict and sharpen the warlike mindset.
First and foremost as a «member of the human family» and then as a «Muslim», I condemn these «Frankenstein» monsters that have been created, formed, financed, armed and maintained for well over three decades as part of a strategy of destabilization and imperialist domination with the aim of selling arms, justifying wars of aggression and occupation, of pillaging resources, destroying over ten Muslim countries, massacring hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and creating millions of refugees and displaced persons…
I’ve long been crying out from the rooftops and one of the things I’ve said over and over again is that these «jihadists» disingenuously called «freedom fighters, rebels, etc.», would one day turn against «those who protect them, those who created them», and that certain of them, returning to the place from where they were first unleashed would make us «taste» the same soup that we have been «cooking and serving up» to others for such a long time and with such impunity!
Have we forgotten that Ben-Laden was the CIA’s «liaison officer» at the time when President Reagan welcomed the Taliban to the White House as «resistance fighters and liberators»? Even more recently, can we deny our direct responsibility in forming and legitimizing these Syrian «bandits/cut-throats» and their «international brigade of jihadists» which we’ve supported and tolerated for four whole years, presenting them to the world as «moderate anti-Assad revolutionaries»? Not to mention our wanton crime of cozying up to them and aiding them in the destruction and torching of Libya, a sovereign country and member of the UNO, in yet another illegal and immoral ‘regime change’’ project?
As a Muslim I have no need whatsoever to justify myself or present ‘’excuses’’ for the crimes of a handful of individuals without law and without faith. However, I do recognize the «responsibility of Muslims and Muslim societies» for the part they played in nurturing the appearance and propagating this violent, reactionary and archaic fundamentalism. This barbaric «anomaly» (which is neither specific to Islam nor to Muslims) is bereft of all spirituality, humanity, values, conscience and civility, and represents a total break with Islam and its traditions, values and foundations. This obligatory symptom of passage from «Tradition» to «Modernity» has already been witnessed and tragically lived out in the West over the course of several blood-filled centuries. This macabre phenomenon whose first and most numerous victims by far are Muslims and Islam itself. And which is based on a reading of Islam which is «ossified, barbarous, barren, austere and blood-thirsty» but which critically has its roots in the context of colonial hegemony, structural crisis, transition, loss of orientation, despair and distress as well as deliberate efforts to provoke and maintain destabilization and chaos This abominable fundamentalism is a «complex social reality» and needs to be contained and combated. Only to do this we first need to understand it and identify its deep ‘’causes’’ both in the Muslim world and here at home, and above all we need to avoid a repetition of the serious mistakes of the past which only worsen the situation and make it more untenable. And not try to ‘’profit’’ from the destructive potential of this «sub-product of Islam and Muslim societies in a time of crisis» to instrumentalize it as do the most reactionary and anti-democratic forces in the Middle East and elsewhere even though they are all our «protégées» and western «allies».
These are grave times and thus it is preferable, for the moment, to call for a time of «silence». And here we need to stop for a while and reconnect with our conscience, rediscover our «humanity» which has been confiscated, trampled and thrown aside as we wait for the blinding clouds of dust raised by these herds whose hooves spare nothing and no one, to settle and die down… Devastation! The enormous irreparable damage done to our «humanity» has been done and continues. Alas, we can do nothing in such situations which have become more deeply tragic than the «event» which originally triggered them. However, a call to “resistance and general mobilization” in the face of all these generalized attacks against our “humanity, against the conditions of our humanity” should follow this period of ‘’calm’’, reflection and growing awareness…
The poet and mystic Rumi once said:
‘’ I am the voiceless one who has seen terrible ”dreams”.
As incapable to speak about them as the ‘’deaf ‘’world is to hear me!’’
But while waiting to finally hear the voice of reason, let us act consequently and act together, let us form in solidarity the ‘’Common Front of Resistance’’ of all people of good will, rising above all shades of difference and all references to ethnicity, race, nationality, culture, religion, and so on … against these ‘’new brands of fascism‘’ which lie in wait for us. And notwithstanding such somber circumstances I know, I insist, I repeat, and I swear that: I can never be either Charlie or an Assassin. I want to stay human. And I will continue to fight for my humanity for humanity!
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The author is an Iranian-Canadian intellectual who for over 30 years has worked for peace and intercultural interfaith dialogue on the local, national and international level. In 2013 and 2014 he took part in two International Humanitarian Missions for Peace in Syria, accompanied by Mairead Maguire; the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
This ‘’manifesto’’ has been published initially in French: http://www.mondialisation.ca/la-chasse-aux-sorcieres-des-charlie-derive-ou-la-prelude-de-bruit-rampant-des-bottes-du-fascisme/5429541.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 16 Feb 2015.
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