The Charlie Hebdo Attack: Terrorism’s Real Target

If you try to put the Charlie Hedbo massacre in “context,” you don’t believe in free speech (“Bloody Paris,” Editorial, Jan. 8).

If you feel compelled to “understand the motives of the oppressed,” you don’t believe in free expression. If you condemn the attacks but say that “relentless provocation has consequences,” you don’t believe in free thought. If you say “there is a fine line between giving offense and bigotry,” you don’t get it.

And if you believe “the cartoons weren’t funny anyway,” you’re missing the point entirely. You don’t have the right to hurt someone if they call you a bad name. You don’t have the right to kill someone if they offend your religion. It’s really quite simple. Je suis Charlie. Oliver Mosier

Astoria

As I reflect on the horrific attacks on Charlie Hebdo, I realize that this incident would not have happened if the “Muslim” terrorists knew the meaning of being a Muslim.

As a teenager who is relearning Islam, I understand now how it is a religion of peace. Islam teaches that the taking of life is a grave sin, whether it is one’s own or someone else’s.

Compassion is the foundation of all religions; if there is no compassion, there is no religion. Nowhere is it written in the Holy Koran or in any sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that mockery is a crime punishable by death. In fact, when people used to make snide comments about the Prophet, he would stop his companions from attacking them. Had these “Muslim” terrorists learned Islam from the original sources like the Koran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, they would dare not commit such atrocities. Nabila Kermani

Jamaica

Bleedingheart leftists like The New York Times are actually right when they say we shouldn’t condemn all Muslims for 9/11, Fort Hood and the massacre in Paris. However, Americans currently have little to fear from angry Protestants, Irish grandmothers and smalltown Orthodox Jews. Law enforcement should focus on identifying and neutralizing “radical Islamic terrorists,” and if they can’t even utter that phrase, then many more innocents will die in the name of Allah. Pete McArdle

Yorktown Heights

Americans who want to know what a genuine “hands up, don’t shoot” moment is all about should look at the cover of Jan. 8’s New York Post, showing a French policeman on the ground before being shot by a terrorist. Arnold Ahlert

Boca Raton, Fla.

Freedom of speech is paramount in any just society. Free thought is a Godgiven human right. In the Koran, God even gave Shaitan (Satan) the right to question Him and speak. It’s outrageous for any Muslim to deny another his Godgiven right of free expression, when Allah himself advises us to think and reflect. The Paris gunmen are the real enemies of Islam and the true evil.

Two of their victims were Muslim as well: Ahmed Merabet and Mustapha Ourrad. When the blame for such crimes committed by Muslims is put on the shoulders of the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, the terrorists win. Their agenda is to spread hatred and violence. Terrorism knows no religion. It is a crime against humanity, and we all need to stand together in solidarity to defeat it.

May Allah bless the innocent souls who have been senselessly murdered and give patience to their grieving families. Sehmina Jaffer Chopra

Salisbury, Md.

The assassination of NYPD officers, beheading of civilians by ISIS and the recent slaughter of French citizens are all cowardly acts of misguided thugs.

Historically and presently, France has been a good ally of America. Specifically, since the 9/11 attacks on our soil, its support for us has been unwavering. Therefore, it would be appropriate to play La Marseillaise, as well as our national anthem, at all of our stadium events. This would demonstrate our solidarity with the people of France during this difficult period. Je suis Charlie. James Cronin

The Bronx