In wake of the tragedy of the recent terrorist attacks in Sydney and Paris instigated by Muslim extremists, the world has come together both in grief and in fear.

In mid-December of this past year, a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, took 18 people hostage in a Lindt Chocolate Café in Sydney, Australia for 16 hours while championing the causes of Islam and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The attack culminated in the death of three, including the gunman, and the injuries of four others as police stormed the café.

Less than a month later, in January of this year, two gunmen affiliated with a branch of Al-Qaeda, brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the Parisian offices of the satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, killing twelve and injuring another eleven. After a national manhunt cornered fugitives in a building located approximately 20 miles outside of Paris, police eventually gunned them down.

Both attacks were of a near-unprecedented severity in their respective countries. In reaction to the incidents, both international leaders and people on social media worldwide offered their condolences and condemnations of the attacks. In both cases, the Muslim community has denounced the attacks, saying that the actions of the terrorists do not reflect correctly upon the ideology of Islam and offering their sympathies.

Worldwide, the trend “Je Suis Charlie,” meaning “I am Charlie” in French, has emerged as a reaction to the shootings in France. The slogan is representative of solidarity with the newspaper and with the ideal of free speech; Charlie Hebdo is well known for being controversial and offensive, especially in making Muslims and Islam the butt of their jokes. Demonstrations and gatherings both protesting the attacks and honoring the lives lost have united people around the world in their grief and anger.

However, it is important not to consciously or unconsciously generalize Muslims or to associate the actions of radical individuals with Islam as a whole. Unfortunately, yet another side-effect of the terrorist attacks is that Muslims are bearing the consequences of the cruelty of the terrorists’ actions. In order to cope with their fear, people identify with Muslims as the enemy, reacting to them with ever-increasing hostility and violence.

Despite the emphasis on the fact that the work of the terrorists is not indicative of the entire Muslim community, both terrorist attacks have resulted in the increase of Islamophobia and consequent prejudicial violence against Muslims.

In Paris, in just the two weeks following the Charlie Hebdo shooting, 128 anti-Muslim incidents were reported to the police; in contrast, there were a total of 133 anti-Muslim incidents reported in the entirety of 2014. The aforementioned incidents include attacks on mosques, grenades, shots fired, and threats. Following the hostage crisis in Australia, the trend #i’llridewithyou emerged on Twitter after the story emerged of a young woman having to remove her hijab in fear of being harassed or hurt. The hashtag is a statement of solidarity, used by those who offer to accompany Muslims traveling alone on public transport in Australia in light of the fear that they are more likely to be targeted as vengeance for the attack.

Although people might use alienation, oppression, and hostility towards Muslims in order to suppress potential similar actions, the fact remains that such suppressive mindsets will only serve to incite more adverse responses. Ultimately, a higher regulation and monitoring of citizens within a country walks a thin line between beneficial and detrimental—such actions have to be delicately executed in a way that ensures a higher protection of the mass populace while also not specifically affecting specific religious or ethnic groups.

Ashley Yang ‘17 agrees, summarizing, “Countries need to protect their citizens while still attempting to make sure that there is no discrimination of other religions.”

There is no concrete way to prevent terrorist attacks since they are founded upon ideologies and radicalism, the latter of which is only exacerbated by the attempted suppression of it. When asked about how to better react to terrorist attacks, Collin Montag ’17 asserts, “I believe that the next step is for leaders to work together, forming cooperative programs between national security forces in order to organize faster responses to unexpected attacks.” In essence, only international cooperation can result in better preparation against terrorist activities.