Paris terror attacks: Political cartoonist illustrates the difference between Isis and Muslims
|
Version 0 of 1. A political cartoonist has highlighted the differences between members of Isis and people of the Islamic faith amid a growing anti-Muslim sentiment across the world. It follows the terror attacks which took place in Paris on Friday, killing 129 people and injuring hundreds. Jen Sorensen created the cartoon, entitled ‘How to tell the difference between Isis and Muslims’, in response to Republican presidential candidates in the US encouraging their Democratic counterparts to use the term ‘radical Islam’ when referring to Isis during their debate on Saturday. Democratic candidates including Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders declined to do so, Fox News reported. Ms Sorensen, the editor of Fusion Comics, said on her website it was "hard to imagine [the GOP] making similar demands that various acts of homegrown terrorism be called the work of ‘radical Christians’.” “Many would argue that simply committing such an act means one is not a true Christian," she said. "By the same token, Isis is not Islamic, as Islam is understood and practiced by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims. So why insist on the label, unless you have an axe to grind about a faith you deem inferior? “Isis thinks in terms of a ‘clash of [civilisations]’ and (surprise!) so do American right-wingers. Anyone framing this issue as The West vs. Islam is playing right into Isis’s hands." The illustration comes after reports of a number of attacks on mosques around the world following events in Paris. The Bishopbriggs Cultural Centre in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, was set on fire on Tuesday and a Police Scotland spokeswoman said it was being “treated as wilful fire-raising”. A mosque in Canada is believed to have bene deliberately set on fire on Saturday, while acts of vandalism against mosques and Islamic centres in the US were also reported. Since the Paris attacks, public support for allowing Syrian refugees to settle in Britain has also dropped, according to a YouGov poll for The Times. But human rights groups have warned Europe against turning its back on refugees. Amnesty International said: “Now more than ever, we must stand in solidarity with everyone who has suffered violence and war – including refugees. Sealing off Europe’s borders isn’t the answer.” Additional reporting by agencies |