Lebanon Condemns Assault on Charlie Hebdo, Considering it 'Attack on Islam'
Lebanese officials and political leaders condemned Wednesday the attack on the Paris offices of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which left 12 people dead, saying the incident was not only an assault against France but also against Islam itself.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam sent a cable to French President Francois Hollande, condoling him over the victims and expressing “the solidarity of the Lebanese people with France.”
Salam stressed his “extreme condemnation of this unacceptable and pointless terrorist attack.”
As for Minister of Information Ramzi Jreij, he said in a statement that “this violation targets all the media, not only the French magazine.”
"Terrorism is the same wherever it occurs as it does not differentiate between a region and another nor between a journalist and another. It is a violation against the freedom of journalism, public freedoms and the freedom of opinion in France and all over the world,” he added.
Meanwhile, al-Mustaqbal movement chief MP Saad Hariri said that “those who take the name of Prophet Mohammed as a tool for revenge and committing the ugliest acts are a stray bunch.”
“They are not seeking to harm the Islamic-French relations as much as they are seeking to harm Islam -- as a religion, values, education and permanent call for moderation, dialogue and integration among faiths,” Hariri added.
Accordingly, he considered the attack as an “idiotic stab in the chest of Islam and hundreds of thousands of Muslims hosted by France since decades.”
"The attack is condemned and rejected by all Arabs and Muslims, who stand in the front lines with France and the international community in the fight against terrorism and extremism,” Hariri added.
For his part, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea stated that “terrorism is a dangerous threat to the entire human civilization.”
He noted that “this terrorist attack that targeted the Charlie Hebdo magazine is a proof that terrorism can hit anywhere and that all the countries are exposed to such violations.”
Geagea called on the international community and the world powers “unite their efforts in order to eliminate the phenomena of extremism and terrorism.”
The March 14 General Secretariat, meanwhile, declared that “the attack is condemned by all the Lebanese people,” calling on the French people not to "arbitrarily attribute terrorism to Islam."
"The March 14 forces condemn all those who kill in the name of religion and those who commit the ugliest acts in the name of God while they are so far away from religion and values,” it added.
It also asked “to keep on fighting terrorism through the unity of all the sincere in this world, who consider terrorism as a danger for humanity, whether they are Muslims or Christians.”
Also on Wednesday, Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel deplored the attack, calling it “a terrorist act par excellence that aims to target democracy and freedoms.”
He urged the international community to “shoulder its responsibilities regarding this type of acts, which must be reined in and deterred.”
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