Finding some Islamic truths in Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons: How a theology professor will teach about the attack
A woman holds the new edition of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 14 in front of the improvised memorial on Rue Nicolas Appert in Paris, near the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, site of the Jan. 7 attack in which 12 of the newspaper staff were killed. (Ian Langson/EPA) In Paris on Wednesday morning, thousands of people lined up to buy the latest copy of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the first issued since gunmen burst in and killed 12 people Jan. 7.
For the cover, a surviving staff member, Renald Luzier, drew a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad holding a sign with what has become a symbol of support, “Je suis Charlie.”
Above, he wrote the words, “Tout est pardonee.” (All is forgiven.)
Wilhelmus G. “Pim” Valkenberg, a professor of religion and culture at the Catholic University of America, directs the Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue and is an associate director of the Certificate Program in Christian-Muslim Relations. He responded to some questions about the attack, its aftermath, how it will influence his teaching and how it may shape students’ thinking about such issues.
Q: Will you talk with your students about the Charlie Hebdo shooting or let it shape the curriculum? What will be most important for them to think about, going forward?
A: I teach courses in Christian-Muslim relations on a regular basis and I always try to get my students involved in research about recent events. In the fall semester, it was the emergence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and the consequences for Christians and others such as Yazidis in these regions. This semester it is the shootings in Paris that involved both the Charlie Hebdo magazine and the Jewish kosher grocery store. I ask my students to engage in questions that are not often addressed in the public media, such as: What drives European or American Muslims to go and fight with the Islamic State? What is so special about Prophet Muhammad for Muslims? And why would they target Jews in particular? One of the goals of the programs is that students will be able to understand better what causes Muslims to do such things. Of course, a full answer to this question requires knowledge about their social and economic situation, and also about psychology of young adults. But there are theological aspects involved as well. A thorough study of texts from the Qur’an about Jews and Christians is necessary for a better understanding.
Q: What do you think of al-Qaeda in Yemen’s claim to have planned and orchestrated the attack?
As far as we know now, some of these individuals have been trained in Yemen, Afghanistan and elsewhere. But they often operate individually and find inspiration in Islamist Web sites. In this respect, it is very important that we study and recognize such Web sites that claim to tell the truth about Islam but in fact give a very particular interpretation that is not supported by the large majority of Muslims. The same holds true for polemical Web sites that claim to tell the truth about Islam but in fact only give very negative and biased opinions. It is very important for our students to learn to recognize these one-sided Web sites and to evaluate their one-sided claims. This is part of our program as well.
Q: Have you been surprised by the reaction, in France and elsewhere? What do you think of the Charlie Hebdo cover designed in response?
A: Since I was born in Europe, I recognize the emotion of being united as a nation and of supporting a certain tradition that you might not support so much if it had not been attacked in such an atrocious way. France has a huge tradition of cartoons and literary works that speak truth to the powers that be. In that sense, the cartoonist and the prophet have something in common. But there are situations in which one may wonder what signal we send by picturing the prophet Muhammad. Most Europeans (and Americans) have no clue about the religious aspects of the aniconic tradition in Islam (and Judaism) that prohibits pictures of religiously important figures. And besides, are the Muslims in the French suburbs or banlieues really part of political power? So we may ask what values we hope to protect by defending not only the freedom of speech but also the right to caricature or insult religious figures? The Western tradition defends this right, but in a situation in which anti-Muslim political parties are on the rise in France and in Germany, Christian religious leaders need to become public mediators. I really hope that we can equip our students to contribute something to this public mediation.
Q: What do you think of this quote from the cartoonist Renald Luzier, who drew the cover after his colleagues were killed? “I thought for a long time that explaining the complexity of the world through drawing would protect me from the stupidity of the world. It’s apparently not the case.” He said the staff members of Charlie Hebdo “liked to draw little characters when we were kids. The terrorists were also kids once, and they also liked to draw. But at some point, they must have lost their sense of humor.”
A: The matter of humor and religion is very important and not very well researched. It is sadly true that the lack of a sense of humor characterizes most persons who speak for religious traditions, and so it is no surprise that most religious authorities who react in the name of Islam do not appreciate the new cover that shows the prophet Muhammad with a sign saying “Je suis Charlie” and the words “everything has been forgiven.” Yet there is a sense of truth in the identification between Muhammad and Charlie Hebdo: In his own lifetime, the prophet Muhammad has proclaimed a message that was not appreciated by the religious powers of his own tribe in Mecca. In that sense, he shared the tradition of “speaking truth to power” with the original function of cartoons. But the message “everything has been forgiven” is maybe the most Islamic aspect of the Charlie Hebdo cover: It is true that the Qur’an characterizes God as being forgiving, merciful and compassionate far more often than powerful, wrathful or hateful. And finally, the tears of Muhammad indicate that the large majority of Muslims deplores and decries the spilling of innocent blood, not only at Charlie Hebdo but certainly also at the Jewish grocery store. So I think that my students could learn a lot even from a cover of the magazine, and therefore I hope that many will try to enhance their understanding of Christian-Muslim relations. It becomes more and more clear how important that is, not only in the Middle East but also in Europe and the United States.
(This post has been lightly edited for length.)
Source http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/14/finding-some-islamic-truths-in-charlie-hebdos-cartoons-how-a-theology-professor-will-teach-about-the-attack/
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