"Ahmed Merabet's eulogy is the most important thing you'll read on Charlie Hebdo"

[sabrina 1]

Ahmed Merabet's eulogy is the most important thing you'll read on Charlie Hebdo

Merabet's death soon took on special significance. He was of Algerian heritage and, like eight to ten percent of France's population, Muslim. So were his killers, who ostensibly killed on behalf of Islamist extremism and in retaliation for Charlie Hebdo cartoons lampooning Islam. The attacks provoked debate within France and the Western world, as they were perhaps intended to, over the compatibility of Islam with Western values, aggravated preexisting hostility to Muslim immigrants and to Islam, and provoked a series of "reprisal" attacks on French mosques and Muslims.

These were the things weighing on Malek Merabet when, on Sunday morning, he eulogized his brother Ahmed before a small crowd of mourners and, by way of television cameras, much of the world.

His speech was only two minutes, and it did not draw as much attention as the 44 global leaders marching through Paris, yet along with his comments later that day at a press conference, it placed his brother's life and death within that larger context in a way that powerfully rebuked both the terrorists and the Islamophobes. And it reaffirmed something that has been widely forgotten this week: that the values that France stands for, and that Charlie Hebdo sought to champion, are not incompatible with Islam at all, and in fact are upheld by French Muslims like Ahmed Merabet.

This is a translation of his eulogy for his brother:

Good morning all,

My brother was French, Algerian, and of the Muslim religion. He was very proud of the name Ahmed Merabet, proud to represent the French police, and to defend the values of the [French] Republic: liberty, equality and fraternity.

Through his determination, he had just received his judicial police diploma and was shortly due to leave for work in the field. His colleagues describe him as a man of action who was passionate about his job.

Ahmed, a man of commitment, had the will to take care of his mother and his relatives following the death of his father 20 years ago. A pillar of the family, his responsibilities did not prevent him from being a caring son, a teasing brother, a generous uncle, and a loving companion.

Devastated by this barbaric act, we associate ourselves with the pain of the families of the victims.

I address myself now to all the racists, Islamophobes, and anti-Semites:

One must not confuse extremists with Muslims. Madness has neither color nor religion. I want to make another point: stop painting everybody with the same brush, stop burning mosques or synagogues. You are attacking people. It won't bring back our dead, and it won't appease our families.

Thank you.

Video of the Eulogy can be seen here:

So sad, all of it!

[malaise]

1. Madness has neither color nor religion

Which is why I can't understand why people in America are more afraid of Muslims than they are of the so called 'lone wolf' NRA goons.

[sabrina 1]

5. I have asked that question many times. Our own mass killers are terrorists too imo.

But we don't call them terrorists for the most part. And those mass killings have been increasing over the past decade or so.

I hope this isn't used as an excuse for more war. That is my fear. Because clearly our invasion of Iraq which was supposed to make us safer, has made the world even less safe, it has given extremists a 'cause'. And according to Diane Feinstein and Rogers from the National Security committees 'we are LESS safe now than we ever were'.

[malaise]

6. I heard that the two brothers who slaughtered the journalists were

orphans. It's amazing how many excuses are made for 'lone wolves' from divorced families, but of course only religious rage drove the brown killers.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026073635
Read Chris Hedges piece

[sabrina 1]

7. I hadn't seen that, thank you. Yes, people don't want to admit it, but all these Imperial Wars

are creating victims, so many victims. Torture victims, orphans, parents whose children were killed.

THIS eg, won't make the news nor will there be any mourning in the West for these victims. A US Air Strike killed 50 people in Syria yesterday! WHY? And why is that any less tragic than what happened in France?

It is all so despicable to me. WAR is a massive terrorist attack. Bush's illegal war on Iraq was a terrorist attack.

[malaise]

13. I'm amazed at the disconnect

promoted in the corporate media.

They know it's blow back.

[lark]

11. Faux, WSJ, all RW media

teach fear of Muslims to support never ending war and mega riches for the MIC and RW pols. They also constantly and significantly downplay the lone wolfs, who are the real danger in America. Those nutjobs vote for the conservative, so of course the conservative media think those crazies are untouchable.

[malaise]

14. Follow the money

People enrich themselves promoting hate

[lark]

17. Which is the root cause for the "war on terra" (sp)

started by the Bush family for the benefit of the Bush & Cheney families and the rest of the 1%.

[malaise]

18. Here's another cause

http://www.siliconafrica.com/france-colonial-tax/
<snip>

14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and Colonization
By: Mawuna Remarque KOUTONIN
Tuesday, January 28th, 2014 at 3:41 pm.
Africa-France-relationshipDid you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!

When Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of french colonial empire, and opted for the country independence, the french colonial elite in Paris got so furious, and in a historic act of fury the french administration in Guinea destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the benefits from french colonization.

Three thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.

The purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.

Slowly fear spread trough the african elite, and none after the Guinea events ever found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”
Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in west Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.

He didn’t want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french colonization.

It was the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving. However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.

-----------------------
We will not let them revise history - just ask the Haitians what they had to pay when they kicked them out during the Revolution.

[Rhinodawg]

2. Great brother, great person.

Great speech.

[Pooka Fey]

3. "stop painting everybody with the same brush, stop burning mosques or synagogues"

Great post, and very important

[Yo_Mama]

4. In the 2012 attacks, it seemed like paratroopers of Muslim descent were targeted, and Jews.

This makes sense in terms of the very radical form of Islam behind these attacks - those Muslims are considered apostates, and so must be killed (in their twisted dogma). Anyone who doesn't agree with their definition of Islam is targeted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toulouse_and_Montauban_shootings

Most of the victims of these people globally are Muslims, and a definite Muslim backlash is forming.

[sabrina 1]

9. That's interesting, and it does make sense. Too bad we don't have a real news media

because the impression being given is that this is a war by all Muslims against the west.

Thank you for that link.

[Yo_Mama]

10. It's not, but the same self-censorship that prevents news outlets from showing the cartoons

also prevents news outlets from honestly discussing just who are behind these attacks.

From the instigators' POV, any speech questioning their stance is taken as defamation. These types routinely target Muslim journalists whose reporting they don't like. This has been going on for many years.

Al-Sisi's speech was courageous in more than one way, and there's considerable truth in this article:
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/1/charlie-hebdo-deadmuslimjournalistsfreedomofspeech.html

Charlie's cartoons were not in fact denigrating Islam, but this development in Islam. Because in the US we have de facto adopted a "no offense" standard, we do not understand this. Until we are willing to offend some Muslims, we will be slandering the rest of them. The problem is that the few that we need to offend are the very violent ones.

[sabrina 1]

12. If people in the US had had more knowledge of Iraq they would never have fallen for Cheney's lies.

Saddam Hussein was terrified of these fundy extremist. They hated him because they felt he had betrayed Islam. He was a secular leader mostly. Bin Laden hated him and Hussein knew they would kill him if they could.

So Cheney/Bush did it for them and now Iraq is over run by the very people we claim are the 'enemy'.

[WillyT]

8. K & R !!!

[Bluenorthwest]

15. His words certainly sound very different from some of the offended parties on DU....

He does not say 'I do not condone violence but' nor does he say 'these artists were no innocent' nor does he attempt to defame the victims in anyway. Many posters here seem intent on completing the attack on Charlie Hebdo. This man, he does not do that. Funny that so many who claimed to speak for him do.

[sabrina 1]

16. I haven't seen anyone say 'but'. I have seen people say the cartoons would not be published here

Even now the NYT hasn't published them or had not the last time I checked.

[PeaceNikki]

20. Today a DUer literally wrote "they did it to themselves"

Shameful.

[BlueMTexpat]

19. Thanks for posting this. :) eom