The attacks that took place in Paris Friday night have shaken the world. Many people are having flashbacks to 9/11 and people are scared. As a student, my first thought was about fellow students from my college, studying abroad in Paris. Thankfully, the students from my school are all safe, but not all schools were so lucky; an American college student from California was one of the victims of Friday night’s tragedy.
I watched the NBC Evening News Special “Terror in Paris” and learned more details about the horrific terrorist act that took place. There are at least 129 people dead, although we know there were many more that that. Dead. They went to a soccer game, a bar, a restaurant, a concert, and never came home.
Currently, ISIS is claiming responsibility for these attacks, as well as the Russian plane crash in Egypt a few weeks ago, and the bombings in Beirut. ISIS stands for the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” and is a militant group of extremists who are determined to create a "caliphate," which essentially means a religious and political ruler of all Muslims, who is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. It was alarming because as I listened to the news report, the media mentioned several incidents that I just learned about in my Communication class. The media referenced the attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris in January and the incident on the French train when two American soldiers and a civilian prevented an Islamic attacker from shooting people on the train with the same type of weapon found at the scene of the crimes on Friday.
All of these incidents show that ISIS is serious. They released a statement that said “Let France and those who walk in its path know that they will remain on the top of the list of targets of the Islamic State.”
First of all, ISIS, you do not speak for the entire Islamic religion. You are not the "be all end all" of the faith of Islam, and you do not speak for every Muslim. At the end of the day, ISIS is a bully. A tough guy that thinks he can bully everyone into submission. You can’t though. As you have seen time and time again, the rest of the world stands together united against terrorism. As Obama said on NBC Evening News, “This is an attack on all of humanity.” You really want to go against all of humanity? That doesn’t sound like good odds for you.
One of the survivors of the concert hall attack said he was surprised how young the attacker was. One horrific detail the news mentioned was that the attacker first started targeting people in wheelchairs near the front of the concert hall. Once again, bullies pick on the weak. People had to play dead in order to survive the attack. One woman lay under a body for an hour and a half just to go unnoticed. The witnesses said the attacker said something about Syria and then started shooting, but it is unclear at this time what was said.
I’m not that knowledgeable about the faith of Islam, as I am Christian, but I did look into the five tenets of Islam and some core principles. One source I found said, “Allah, the creator of the universe and of humankind…mercy and compassion are his principle qualities.”
There was nothing merciful or compassionate about the attacks in Paris. Maybe ISIS should pause and reflect on the tenets of the religion they are “fighting for.” We saw how well it worked out for the crusaders the first time around. We learned to be tolerant of all religions, and not impose one way of thinking on everyone. Maybe ISIS needs to learn that lesson before more blood is shed, because ISIS, you will lose and all these lives that are being martyred – suicide bombers and victims of your attacks – will have been lost for nothing.
Cities across Europe and the whole world put lights out in solidarity with Paris, and to defy the terrorism that tries to spread darkness wherever it goes. If that doesn’t send a message, I don’t know what will. We are together. We are united. We stand as one. You can’t tear us down, and you certainly can’t win.
In the hours and days following the attack, the hashtag “#RecherchéParis” or “SearchParis” appeared all over social media, calling to those who are missing after the attack. It is an eerie reminder of 9/11 and the flyers that were everywhere, looking for lost loved ones.
ISIS has declared itself the bad guy. It loves being that guy. But look at history for a second. Has the bad guy ever won? Lives have been lost, sure, but has the bad guy ever won? WWI. WWII. Osama Bin Laden and 9/11…. No. There may be battles lost, but the good guys always win the war. Look at the facts ISIS. …Because history repeats itself.
