By Heba Yosry
22 October
2020
The world
watched with horror the recent terrorist attack that claimed the life of a
beloved high school teacher, Samuel Paty. Saudi Arabia led other Muslim nations
in condemning the attack. In Egypt, Dar Al Efta, the highest religious
authority in the country, condemned the senseless violence that undermines
Islam’s priority of maintaining the sanctity of human life. And protesters
filled French streets in uproar over the attack on teachers and what they see
as French values.
Paty’s
murder can be better understood by examining two intertwining concepts: the
contested role of the teacher as promoting free speech, and the role of a
minority of mosques in radicalizing young men. Firstly, historically teachers
have always had a contentious status among their societies. Teachers are
supposed to be trusted agents for the betterment of our children. Parents send
their children to schools and universities to learn about the realities of the
world and about themselves.
Nevertheless,
when parents feel that teachers are leading their children to question their
core beliefs, the initial trust morphs into anger and condemnation. As a
teacher, I always find myself trying to strike the delicate balance between
offering my students controversial material in an attempt to foster critical
thinking, without causing offence or going too far. Socrates is an example of
this tension; he was charged with corrupting the youth by his fellow Athenians,
and was killed for it. While teachers have a position of great influence in
society, historically they are also vulnerable to violence and persecution if
the court of public opinion decides against the direction in which they are
influencing the young.
French
President Emmanuel Macron watches the coffin of slain teacher Samuel Paty being
carried in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial
event, in Paris, France October 21, 2020. (Reuters)
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Secondly,
the killer was an 18-year-old who was born in Russia and lived in France. He
was young enough not to be perceived as a threat when he asked the other
students to point out the teacher before he committed his heinous crime. He had
no previously known affiliations with terrorist organizations and was not
identified as a potential terrorist. This leads to the conclusion that he was
probably radicalized in France.
The sad
reality is that the indoctrination and radicalization of European youth inside
European cities is not a single and isolated incident but an alarming trend, as
seen in the large numbers of Europeans who joined ISIS. According to a report
published by the World Bank under the title “Transnational Terrorist
Recruitment: Evidence from Daesh Personnel Records,” 148 fighters resided in
France before joining ISIS. The radicalization of young men is the result of a
range of causes. Whether for extremist groups such as ISIS or white supremacist
groups, it increasingly occurs online with local encouragement through inciting
an hateful rhetoric that is articulated by influential figures at home, where
young men are groomed by slick propaganda videos and online recruiters.
However, in
this case, French authorities arrested an imam known for his inciting and
violent speeches in connection with the crime and recently closed a mosque in
an effort to curb hate speech. Some mosques in Europe have become hubs for the
radicalization of young Muslims because there is no government regulation
regarding religious discourse. It is important to note that the majority of
mosques promote Islam’s message of peace, but that does not mean that there are
a minority of mosques where imams have cultivated an atmosphere that could
radicalize young men. European governments steer clear from intervening in what
happens inside mosques out of the fear that they might be charged with
Islamophobia.
The logic
is that whatever happens inside the mosque is secluded within the confines of
its structure and protected by freedom of expression. However, as we have seen
in this incident and other terrorist incidents, hateful rhetoric inside the
confines of the mosque can be translated into violence by young and gullible
children. Governments’ failure to act on fear being branded Islamophobic can
allow attacks on peaceful Muslims who just want to lead a normal life. European
governments should therefore halt efforts to maintain political correctness and
not hesitate to address hateful and violent rhetoric.
In Egypt,
“Revising Religious Discourse” is an initiative that aimed to revise some
antiquated notions of Islam, and also to regulate religious discourse in an
effort to counter religious extremism at home. European countries should learn
the lesson. Preventive measures that are misidentified as Islamophobic prevent
the rise of Islamophobia. The overall culture of passive complicity that allows
for young Europeans to be radicalized at home needs to stop.
We are
witnessing a war of ideas and competing narratives that are demanding our
children’s attention. At schools, teachers try to instill the basic concepts of
critical thinking and free speech, even if they use materials that we might not
condone as Muslims. In the mosque, some imams try to instill hatred and
violence as the only way that Muslims can protect themselves against the
perceived attacks on Islam. Children who attend school come home to ask their
parents about what they heard. Children who attend those mosques where imams
are preaching hate come home to plan how to take revenge against supposed
“infidels.” In both the school and the mosque, words have inspired actions; one
to engage in dialogue, and another to silence. For the sake of our children,
and for the sake of Islam, dialogue must prevail.
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Heba Yosry teaches psychology and philosophy in
Cairo. She holds a post-graduate degree in Arabic Literature and philosophy
from the American University in Cairo. In addition to her teaching duties ; her
research areas include modernity, gender, metaphysics and language.
Original Headline: Samuel Paty’s murder shows
need for free speech, combating radicalization in mosques
Source: The English al-Arabiya
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/samuel-paty’s-murder-contested-role/d/123251
New Age
Islam, Islam
Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in
Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In
Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim
Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism