Image courtesy of [lozikiki via Flickr]
Society and Culture
J.K. Rowling Has Perfect Response to Anti-Muslim Tweets
Hello again! It feels like it has been a year since I’ve written. (Get it? Because it is 2015 now? Lol?) But I am back now, and it’s time to get into the thick of it.
We are now nearly two weeks into the new year and have already had a heavy dose of tragedy. Unless you have been cut off from internet and television over the past few days, you’ve heard about the Charlie Hebdo shootings. Regardless of what your opinion is of that publication, the murder of those people was an act of terror and an infringement on their rights as humans and French citizens.
Whenever there is an act of extremism related to one system of belief, there are those who call out the entire group. I don’t know why this does not go without saying, but ONE BAD APPLE DOES NOT SPOIL THE WHOLE BUNCH.
While Al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups call themselves Muslim, not all Muslims belong to Al-Qaeda. Yet, people like news magnate Rupert Murdoch go off and blame the entire religion.
Maybe most Moslems peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 10, 2015
Uhh….
Luckily, we have witty and intelligent people in the world like J.K. Rowling, who some of you may know as the author of a little series called Harry Potter, to put people like Murdoch in their place.
I was born Christian. If that makes Rupert Murdoch my responsibility, I’ll auto-excommunicate. http://t.co/Atw1wNk8UX
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 11, 2015
.@dom209 The Spanish Inquisition was my fault, as is all Christian fundamentalist violence. Oh, and Jim Bakker.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 11, 2015
It is always promising when voices of reason speak out, especially when those voices have four million Twitter followers. Rowling’s cutting sarcasm continued with responses to fans who joined in her satire, resulting in a truly entertaining and enlightening Twitter feed.
When horrible things happen, like the events in Paris on January 7, instead of playing the blame game, those with sizable influence–like Murdoch–should join in the fight for justice. Yet, too often, we see hate answered with hate.
We can be thankful that most of the world’s population, including many political leaders, have joined together and targeted the real source of the attacks: religious extremists. Infamous hacking organization Anonymous has even declared war on jihadists, laying out a plan of attack centered in cyber world. It is not the responsibility of practitioners of Islam to rid the world of Islamic extremists. We are all affected by their acts, and we can all help in the effort to “destroy their growing cancer.”
Comments