Charlie Hebdo

Mr. Adnan Oktar’s comments about the attack on the office of French magazine Charlie Hebdo

- An armed attack has taken place in Paris on the office of a magazine that published a cartoon of a person under the name of the Prophet Muhammed (saas).

- This afternoon. Twelve people have died, two of them police officers.

- The magazine is a leftist one. It attracted strong criticism from all over the Islamic world for publishing cartoons mocking Islam in 2006 and 2011. However, they also targeted Christianity and Judaism, not just Islam. The editor-in-chief of the magazine, known for its communist leanings, said that all faiths were open to mockery and that this was not against the law. They issued statements along the line of; "Religious people need not read us. I am an atheist. I also hear things I do not wish to when I go to a mosque or a church." That person, who had received threats from al-Qaeda for some time, was one of those who died.

Adnan Oktar: One cannot get anywhere by killing. But you can by criticism and warnings. You can criticize and hold meetings. You can explain that what they are doing is disrespectful and unkind. You can explain that what they are doing has nothing to do with freedom of ideas, and is simply a system that distresses people. In that way you can gather support in society, and they will also be influenced. But going there and killing people with Kalashnikovs is very wrong.

- The French police have announced that the attackers shouted, “We have taken revenge for the Prophet.” One person who hid from the attackers and escaped said that they spoke perfect French and that they said they were acting in revenge for al-Qaeda.

Adnan Oktar: That would be meaningful if there were such a concept as ‘revenge’ in Islam. Their actions are incompatible with Islam. They should approach people with love and affection. You can go and tell people how offended Muslims are. You can say; "I would be equally pained if a communist were treated in that way. But we can have a discussion of ideas. And there may be people who disagree.” You can have religious debates. Nobody will mind that. But insults and defamation are senseless. One can explain how ugly their actions are.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief referred to legal proceedings brought by Muslims against them by saying, “Nothing will come of that, because Islam is illegal.”

That person was speaking unnecessarily and rudely. He wanted to give Muslims the impression that they are helpless, that “Whatever you do, the law does not work for you.”   

But killing them is no good at all. That is not a path compatible with Islam and the Qur’an.

- In the latest issue of the magazine, it carried a very unpleasant cartoon under the names of Jesus and Mary. The presentation was highly defamatory. French President Hollande issued a statement saying that such drawings should be considered within the framework of freedom of thought and that the attack on the journal was a violation of freedom of thought. 

Adnan Oktar: Of course, there is something wrong there. Hollande says it is a violation of freedom of thought. But is it compatible with love and respect? They need to ask that first. No, it is not. Freedom of thought is not all that matters. Love and respect and manners are also important. Freedom of thought does not mean insulting everyone, hurting and offending everyone, or trying to suppress people’s love and joy. They should make love the important thing. Freedom of ideas is sacred, but love is even more sacred. Kindness is even more sacred. Respect is even more sacred. But going and mowing people down is also no good, of course. If the law does not help, you can go and protest.

People need to turn to the Qur’an. And you need the system of the Mahdi for people to turn to the Qur’an. It will be very hard to turn to the Qur’an without the system of the Mahdi. Had it been easy, it would already have happened. But hundreds of years have gone by.

Had the families of the people who drew these cartoons been insulted, someone would have been punished under French law. They would have issued a writ at once. Of course defamation is wrong, but if it had happened they would have sued and won. But French law says nothing about Islam. There are laws preventing the defamation of Judaism and Christianity. Proceedings can be brought. But there is nothing about Islam.

Lovelessness is everywhere. The magazine is also founded on hatred and rejects love. It is all hatred. They know no love. Had they known love they would have had a perfect state of mind and their language would have been immaculate.

Look, 83 people were killed in bombings today in Iraq. Martyred. Another 38 people were bombed and martyred in Yemen, and 18 in Afghanistan. But there were no reports of those anywhere. Yet the events in France brought the whole world to its feet. No value is attached to Muslims. Our Prophet says in the hadiths that this is how it will be. 'Muslims will not be valued in the End Times,’ he says. He sets it all out in detail. 'The faith will flourish again with the return of Muhammed the Mahdi,’ he says. ‘Muslims will enjoy their former prestige. Muslims will be valued,’ he says. We are entering that age. But I said that great things would happen as we entered 2015. Look, tragedies have started right at the beginning of the year. This will continue until the coming of the Mahdi.