Heiko Khoo, a radio producer, columnist, video producer, historian and a well known public speaker in London.

Sumantra Maitra, a foreign affairs journalist, and research scholar on Foreign Policy and Neo-Realism, based in New Zealand.

Sajjad Malik, a Pakistan-based analyst.

The decentralized structure of the Islamic State terrorists and their capacity to win recruits from among believers in Western Europe make preventing these acts of terror ever more difficult. Two types of reactionary forces are bolstered by these attacks: Europe's extreme right is making headway by blaming socio-economic and cultural crises and clashes on Islam, multiculturalism and immigration; and new Islamic terrorist cells are springing up amongst alienated and angry Muslim youth. France's secular policies like the public ban on the full-face veils sometimes worn by Muslim women have, at times, appeared to specifically target Muslims. When combined with widespread suburban poverty and alienation amongst Muslim youth, this creates a breeding ground for dramatic and violent explosions of discontent that sometimes find expression in riots and civil unrest and at other times take the form of terrorism.

>>more  

I write this column with outrage, pain and yes, a terrible desire for vengeance…but not shock. After three days of carnage in France, where almost an entire staff of a satirical magazine were wiped out for drawing cartoons, and four Jewish people killed just because of their faith, the world is in a state of shock. But shock is the last emotion they should have. I, being from a country, which has faced the brunt of Islamist Jihadism and other forms of intolerance on free speech, much longer than the rest of the world, who has seen the collective cowardice of our species, when it comes to defending the liberal principles of human rights and freedom of expression, and who has seen the entirely predictable politically correct response, am now too cynical and immune to shock.

A lot has already been written about the Charlie Hebdo attack, not because the clinical cold blooded execution of our French colleagues, or because this is the first time since the fall of fascism in Europe that a group of individuals have been mass murdered for their right to expression, but because the cause, the reason, why they died. Just as entirely predictable were the array of laughable responses and discussions I have heard in the last few days.

>>more 

 Islamic terrorism strikes Europe

Paradoxically, it is probably due to the American culture of freedom of speech. It is perfectly possible to preach the most extreme forms of Islam; by the American constitution the government has no right to interfere. But, for that reason, the community tends to police itself. American communities simply will not accept co-existence with groups wholly inimical to the United States and everything it stands for, especially while soldiers are fighting overseas.

But in Britain and France the problem is a different one, and one linked to the colonial past of both countries. Because both the British and French empires contained large Muslim populations, in the post-imperial era many former inhabitants of the colonies have established sufficiently strong links to the "mother" country to have obtained residence, and often citizenship, there. But, largely because of post-imperial resentments, many former colonials have not integrated as well into British and French society and its customs and values as immigrants to America normally do.

>>more 

I am in no mood to suggest curbs on free speech, but I am thinking aloud that saving lives from violence may be as important as granting people their right to say whatever they want. If some people or nations erect barriers, then maybe it is important to accept this as their right and wait until they learn to lower these barriers. It is important to have an understanding of different religions, societies and governments and their respective systems.

>>more

 Tolerance is key in the wake of tragedy

Everyone has their own ideas about religion. Everyone has their own ideas about what is offensive or blasphemous. No one should be forced to live under the rules of a religion that they don't believe in. Charlie Hebdo brutally mocked Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, not to mention many political issues, but they didn't deserve to die or be censored for doing so.

>>more 

 When is a war not a war?

Mankind, which holds itself up as being the most civilized species on the planet has not, for all its sophistication and technical advances, figured out how to get along. We should have evolved to the point at which we can either agree or at least allow the other guy to go his own way without taking it personally. There is no end in sight to the struggle to curb those who say they are right and everyone else is wrong. This isn't a war, it's just an unending series of barbaric battles. More's the pity.

>>more