Fareed Zakaria on Paris attack: Unfortunate that leaders of Muslim nations did not condemn Charlie Hebdo shooting

Indian-born American journalist and author Fareed Zakaria condemned the Paris attacks and said that leaders of Muslim nations should have publicly condemned the terror attacks.

Fareed Zakaria said leaders of Muslim nations should have publicly condemned the Paris attacks. Agencies

"I'm sure it (the terror attacks) will have an effect in terms of strengthening the anti-immigration politicians and movements which is already gaining ground," said Zakaria. "What will also grow is a sense of fear and despair. These kinds of terrorists are taking advantage of the immigration policies of the past and of the openness of societies."

On being asked what he thinks of these attacks as being a Muslim himself, Zakaria said, "I think it is very important to denounce these attacks. I think it is very unfortunate that we have not seen leaders of Muslim nations come out and condemn this incident openly and publicly and forcefully. Where is the Prime Minister of Pakistan? Where is the President of Egypt?"

Related Articles

French magazine Charlie Hebdo has once again gone after Turkey’s Erdogan: What is it now?

Is Taliban taking over the Afghan embassy in New Delhi?

Zakaria added that some of these leaders had issued a statement against the attacks but that is very different from saying something publicly.

"Blasphemy laws in various countries encourage the idea that insulting the Quran is to be met with violence, something which has absolutely no basis in the Quran. The Quran does not mention the word blasphemy," he said, adding that "Pakistan is the poster-child of such anti-blasphemy campaigns."

Zakaria's statements come after a shooting and hostage-taking attack developed at a kosher market on the eastern edge of Paris on Friday. The French president ordered the country's top security official to the scene, an official in the presidency told The Associated Press.

This entire crisis began when gunmen on Wednesday burst into French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo's office with automatic weapons, killing 12 people, including the editor of the weekly and three acclaimed cartoonists, and wounding more than 20 other people before escaping.

(With agency inputs)