Bill Maher declared this was an Islamic terrorist attack in the hours afterward, before the corpses were cold and the suspects were named. A few years back, a tasteful depiction of Muhammed was censored on an episode of South Park, with the overarching theme being a satirical jab at artists for kowtowing to the Islamic extremists who are literally the only people who demand that Muhammed is never shown. (Christians, meanwhile, have a complicated issue as to whether Jesus/God could or should be depicted in graphic form.) A few years prior to this, Muhammed was depicted on the Comedy Central show as a superhero in the legion of religious figures turned superheroes. No one noticed.
Really being offended at a depiction of Muhammed is not the strangest thing that Islamic terrorist do, is it? They sincerely believe that THEY are being attacked and are merely resisting. They believe that killing women and children will make Muslims look better the world over. The people whom Muslim religious fanatics are most liable to kill are Muslims, followed by non-Muslim aid workers and journalists. They are so divorced from reality that they make American Christian fanatics seem downright sane.
This terrorist attack has had the unintended side effect of rightwingers declaring a moratorium on Franco-phobic jokes. (How badass was that raid, by the way? They shot the terrorists. Good for them! I have a mental image of them afterwards shooting their automatic guns into the air, yelling: "U-S-A!") Real politics involve the notion that the "enemy of the enemy is my friend"--and the French, who are normally terrible, are now confronted with the threat of Islamic extremism. This existential threat to human civilization is worse than liking Jerry Lewis, who was never that good.... Muslim terrorists: worse.
Occasionally funny short person Bill Maher is not so much concerned about life but about bashing religion--any religion, I believe. Rightwing Christians are agreeing with him because he is agreeing with them: Islam is not a religion of peace. Politics make strange bedfellows. Of course, the modern state of Islam is an excellent promotional material for atheism. Islamic society at one time led the world in civility--including women's rights. For whatever reason, Muslims the world over had grown stupider across the centuries. Christians suffered their dark ages, and now these are theirs--unfortunately, the rise of Western thought has coincided with the decline of Islamic thought. Most of the world's Muslims are illiterate; they cannot read the Koran. And when non-Muslims tell Muslims what are in their religious scriptures, it is understandably greeting with suspicions. And, face it: It's not our book. They are literally just making up Islam as they go along. Meanwhile most Western Muslims are literate, and the educated Muslims are most often the ones to stage Islamic terrorist attacks. This should make us give pause--but it won't.
As a fellow artist, I have to say: I'll write whatever I damn well please. As an intelligent person, I have to say: No, I won't be drawing a picture of Muhammed. Because, in the words of Stan from South Park when asked if he thought the elderly should be allowed to drive: No, I don't hate the elderly; I just don't want to die. I think a lot of artists feel the same, criticizing a backwards religious ideology from the safety of the crowds. There is now a rush to depict the prophet Muhammed MORE after this terrorist attack. Saying "fuck you" to random people is a hallmark of democracy. However, attempting to make a stand on principle even if this principle is not worth standing for makes you a douche--you're drawing Muhammed to make the Islamic extremists livid, not because you have anything intelligent to say about the prophet Muhammed. So do as you will, artists, but I will not think you brilliant or brave.
There's an unfortunate racial angle to this, too: Europe has an immigration problem. The Mexicans aren't performing suicide attacks to appease the Virgin of Guadlupe. (Don't start, Mexicans. Wouldn't be cool.) Europe is situated near North Africa and the Middle East. They have generous welfare programs, and enough technological development and freedom of expression to allow people to do whatever they want. It's like the French have created a perfect environment to start mass murder. What has previously stopped them was a lack of guns--and, I suspect, butter-rich diets. It's hard to murder when you're full of butter. You just feel good and the saturated fat slows you down. Europe will now have to clamp down on immigration, which might further alienate the Muslims already there, which will be a problem to be sorted out at some later day.
Americans should be thankful that terrorists have never learned that they could just buy a bunch of guns and begin killing Americans--there is no need to construct bombs or poison the air. In real life, a good gun will not protect you from a bad guy with a gun who shoots you in the back. (He's a bad guy; that's what bad guys do.) It is an egregious error to believe that your enemies are as noble as yourself.
Muslims in developed countries, meanwhile are so often complete hypocrites. They hang out at Western universities. They receive social benefits--such as unemployment, transportation and free primary schooling--they get laid and drunk. Then they decide that the West is evil and no other Muslim should benefit from the advantages that they have received. Many of these homegrown terrorists are converts to Islam. They do not wish to practice the religion--whether Islam or atheism--so much as are seeking a pretense to be obnoxious (which is something Maher should consider) to non-believers. We should welcome Muslims in our society. Their religion is no more stupid or violent than any other religion.
When addressing the notion that Islam--an old religion of over a billion adherents--is a death cult, I am reminded of an (okay) unrealistic scene in The Dark Knight, where the Joker has rigged two ferries full of people--one with convicts, the other with civilians--with explosives and gives them a countdown to kill each other, to prove that humanity is fundamentally bad. The minutes tick by, and nothing happens. As the debate rages on, the ferry captain of the good boat realizes: "We're still here." That brings me comfort.
But Maher is still an asshole, right? He's an asshole.
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