Charlie Hebdo panel provokes discussion

A panel of experts discussed the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks at a talk co-hosted by The Foreign Affairs Symposium, the Department of Political Science and the Islamic Studies Program on Friday evening.

The panel featured Sociology Professor and Islamic Studies Director Niloofar Haeri, Romance Languages Professor Jacques Neefs and History Professor Todd Shepard. Political Science Professor Nicolas Jabko served as the moderator.

Over 150 students showed up at the Glass Pavilion to hear the talk, which was titled “Is All Really Forgiven? A Panel Discussion on the Recent Terrorist Attacks in Paris.” The name was a play on Charlie Hebdo’s “Survivors’” issue, which was published shortly after the attacks. The cover of this magazine featured the headline, “All is forgiven.”

The two-hour forum allowed for an interactive discussion. Jabko was pleased with the dialogue that the panel generated.

“I think the panel went well and raised some very important problems. It also led to an interesting conversation among the panelists and with the audience,” Jabko said.

Freshman attendee Ellie Strauss agreed.

“I thought it was very impressive and interesting to hear different perspectives on this current controversial topic,” Strauss said.

Freshman Sarah Schreib felt that the event went particularly well in terms of the diversity of opinions presented.

“For me, the best element of the panel were the unique and incredibly well-informed arguments made by each of the panelists. Each one was so complex that there could have easily been a separate panel discussion on each of the four topics,” Schreib said. “Two of my professors, Nicolas Jabko and Niloofar Haeri, were involved in the panel and it was fascinating to discover their personal perspectives and in-depth knowledge on the subject.”

During the discussion, Neefs took a stance on the freedom of speech and expression.

“Neefs insisted on the question of freedom of expression and explained why it had created such a reaction at the French and international level, culminating with the march on Jan. 11 in the streets of Paris,” senior Servane Lauriot dit Prevost, a visiting international student from France, said.

Lauriot dit Prevost was one of multiple students of French background who came to participate in the discussion.

Shepard, whose work has focused on 20th-century French history, studies the historical relationship between French Muslims and the Republic, as well as the French principle of separation of church and state, known as “laïcité.”

“I was especially interested [in] what Shepard had to say about the focus on ‘laïcité’ or secularism in the French government, and how this attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine could be linked to these issues of trying to be a very secular country encouraging students to conceal any religious garb in school,” Strauss said.

Haeri broadened the conversation by pivoting to the subject of Islam in a global context. She aimed to give the audience food for thought about the distinctions and misconceptions of the religion.

“Professor Haeri extended the debate to Islam in the world and the question of representation of the Prophet, which is nowhere to be mentioned in the Quran,” Lauriot dit Prevost said.

The panel attempted to elucidate on some of the variables that led to the massacre, and many more were suggested in the open debate.

“It gave me a better sense of the complexity of the tragedy,” freshman Holly Tice said.

Jabko also felt that the speakers explained multiple aspects of a complex topic.

“The speakers highlighted the complexity of the problem of free speech and secularism in Western societies that have become increasingly diverse,” he said.

Other students agreed that the panel shed light on the complexity of the issue, but felt that it lacked closure.

“Although, by the end, no real conclusion had been drawn about the challenging environment that surrounds the attacks, I still felt it was an important event to attend in that it opened my eyes to just how complex our world really is and how crucial it is to remain informed and open-minded about one another,” Schreib said.

Jabko emphasized that, despite the recent attacks’ link to Islam, he does not want Muslims as a whole to be persecuted.

“It is important to recognize the existence of racism, and to stop demonizing Islam, in order to address the roots of terrorism. Too often, the populist far right is able to successfully present itself as the flag-bearer of secularism and the only credible barrier against ‘Islam,’” Jabko said. ”The difficulty for France today is to forcefully defend democratic values, including free speech, without, however, adding fuel to the fire and thus worsening the sense of alienation felt by many inner-city youths.”