Attack will not change our beliefs - The right to free speech

IN THE days immediately after the January 7 attack on the Paris headquarters of the provocative magazine Charlie Hebdo, in which two Islamist terrorists initially killed 11 people and injured 11, the West was united in its outrage.

The widespread determination that a cherished principle, one recognised as a cornerstone of tolerance and democracy, should be protected and celebrated was expressed with conviction right across Europe. That this core principle brought, potentially at least, the West’s culture in immediate conflict with the black-or-white world of Islamic fundamentalism was an unfortunate and unintended consequence.

Four days after the massacre around 2m people, including more than 40 world leaders, marched through Paris in an almost unprecedented display of solidarity. There were similar rallies right across Europe. The suicide terrorists Saïd and Chérif Kouachi — names forgotten by millions already — had provoked an almost unknown unity among disparate societies and individuals. The post-massacre edition of Charlie Hebdo became the battle standard for an unquestionable and fashionable cause célèbre.