One of the most interesting articles out of this collection is the essay Charlie Hebdo: Is Islam to blame?
In this essay Frank Furedi writes about the problems that arise when one wants to have an open and objective discussion about the responsibility the Islam bears. Two simplistic opinions, that mirror each other, but of which neither provides solace, are very present in the debate.
The first being that Islam has an “inherent flaw that drives its zealots to acts of barbaric violence against their foes”. The other is the ‘these are not Muslims’-perspective. Frank Furedi encourages us to look at “why Islamic jihadist ideals have such a powerful appeal over many young people in the west.” Saying that the problem is simply Islam, or simply terrorism, makes it possible to avoid the hard debate. A debate that we want to have during this evening in De Balie and where we will speak freely about a value so important to us, freedom of speech.
About Frank Furedi:
Frank Furedi is a sociologist and social commentator. He was formerly Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury. His book Invitation To Terror; Expanding the Empire of the Unknown (2007) explores the way in which the threat of terrorism has become amplified through the ascendancy of precautionary thinking. It develops the arguments contained in two previous books, Culture of Fear (2002) and Paranoid Parenting (2001). Both of these works investigate the interaction between risk consciousness and perceptions of fear, trust relations and social capital in contemporary society.