A variety of perspectives on events in France

Jeffery Goldberg on Charlie Rose http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60499584 (minute 22:31-46:09) discussing events in France, the impact on free speech by journalists and on the lives of Jews living in France, as well as the radicalization process of individuals via the Internet.

Three writer-fellow-scholar types discuss "Islam and Freedom of Speech," on Charlie Rose (12 minutes), available at http://www.bloomberg.com/video/islam-and-freedom-of-speech-charlie-rose-01-16-YEM022nNQSC_sRkUQY9vWg.html

NY Times: There is no duty to blaspheme, a society’s liberty is not proportional to the quantity of blasphemy it produces, and under many circumstances the choice to give offense (religious and otherwise) can be reasonably criticized as pointlessly antagonizing, needlessly cruel, or simply stupid.  http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/the-blasphemy-we-need/?ref=opinion

The Economist: The magazine was targeted because it cherished and promoted its right to offend: specifically to offend Muslims. That motive invokes two big themes. One is free speech, and whether it should have limits, self-imposed or otherwise. The answer to that is an emphatic no. The second is Muslim Europe—and whether episodes such as this are part of a civilizational struggle between Western democracies and extreme Islam, on a battlefield stretching continuously from Peshawar to Raqqa to the centre of Paris. Again, the answer is no. See http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21638118-islamists-are-assailing-freedom-speech-vilifying-all-islam-wrong-way-counter 

The Atlantic: The Charlie Hebdo massacre seems to be the most direct attack on Western ideals by jihadists yet. I’ve seen arguments advancing the idea that 9/11 represents the purest expression of Islamist rage at a specific Western idea— capitalism, in that case—but satire and the right to blaspheme are directly responsible for modernity. In the words of Simon Schama, “Irreverence is the lifeblood of freedom.”  See http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/europe-is-under-siege/384305/

Reuters: What follows the slaughter of the senior staff of the Parisian satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo will be a test of the depth of Europe’s liberal instincts. The weekly paper, run by journalists with the real courage of their convictions, has done more than its duty for freedom of the press. It falls to Europeans to display their attachment to other pillars of a free society: the rule of law, the observance of democratic norms, the display of tolerance and nondiscrimination.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/01/09/charlie-hebdo-killings-are-a-test-for-france-and-all-western-europe/

USA Guest Editorial: Why did France allow the tabloid to provoke Muslims? It is time that the sanctity of a Prophet revered by up to one-quarter of the world's population was protected. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/01/07/islam-allah-muslims-shariah-anjem-choudary-editorials-debates/21417461/ 

The WSJ: First, our freedoms are not merely our “traditions,” our “ways,” “reflective of Enlightenment assumptions” or “very pleasant.” In America especially, they are everything to us. Here freedom of expression is called free speech, and it is protected in the first of the Constitution’s amendments because it is the most important of our rights.  http://www.wsj.com/articles/salman-rushdie-meet-charlie-hebdo-1420763547