United in Outrage - NYTimes.comUnited in Outrage - NYTimes.comMain MenuMain MenuType Size:AAANight Mode:DisableEnableAccount:SubscribeLog inThe New York TimesInternational New York TimesSearchGoShareTweetMoreSubscribeSubscribeMy accountLog inOpinionEditorialUnited in OutrageAfter the Charlie Hebdo Attack, the French Join HandsWorld leaders at the Paris march on Sunday.Eric Feferberg / Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesShareBy THE EDITORIAL BOARDJanuary 11, 2015The solidarity march of more than one million people in Paris on Sunday was rich in placards and symbols but appropriately devoid of speeches. Like many in the vast throng that filled the broad boulevards between Place de la République and Place de la Nation, the world leaders who marched a portion of the route with President François Hollande locked arms and embraced. But there was no podium, no pulpit, only ubiquitous signs reading “Je suis Charlie.” For the moment, that said it all.Charlie, as the world has come to know, is Charlie Hebdo, the satirical weekly tabloid that was attacked by two radical Islamist gunmen on Wednesday. An apparent ally of those gunmen allegedly killed a policewoman and burst into a kosher supermarket in Paris, murdering several people there. In the end, 17 people and the three terrorists were dead, and “Je suis Charlie” swiftly became a declaration of solidarity and grief, displayed on kiosks, armbands, headbands, TV screens and banners.There were some other signs, too — “I am Charlie, cop, Jew” read some, and many displayed a simple pencil, symbol for the freedom of expression that came under attack when the brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi massacred cartoonists and editors at Charlie Hebdo, evidently because the magazine had published cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad.There’s much that can and should be discussed as a result of the tragedy — about freedom of the press, about the growing backlash across Europe against Muslim immigrants, about Islamist terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. Certainly many of the dozens of national leaders in the Paris march — including the leaders of Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Greece — could have said plenty. Many of their countries have known vicious terrorist attacks in recent years; many are contending with rising anti-immigrant movements. The White House will gather leaders in Washington next month for a summit meeting on preventing terrorism, the American attorney general, Eric Holder Jr., announced.But with the horror and fears raised by the attacks still fresh, it was important and proper that the first response in Paris — as elsewhere in France, across Europe and across the Atlantic — was a resounding and united demonstration of outrage and solidarity. Simply by turning out in vast numbers, the marchers eloquently demonstrated a shared conviction that Charlie Hebdo was exercising a right fundamental to democracy, the right of free expression. No perceived provocation, no grievance and certainly no religious conviction justifies killing those who wield only a pen.The Charlie Hebdo murders are certain to intensify exploration for effective ways to combat terrorism. The probability that one of the Kouachi brothers had trained with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was on American watch lists should prompt a search for better cooperation and communication among Western allies and new ways to deal with the veteran jihadists who return to Europe after training and fighting with groups abroad. Perhaps the greatest danger in the wake of the massacres is that more Europeans will come to the conclusion that all Muslim immigrants on the Continent are carriers of a great and mortal threat. Anti-immigrant sentiments were already at a dangerous level, making it essential for national and pan-European leaders in coming days to underscore that extremism is not inherent to the Muslim faith, and that the Islamists themselves are hardly a single entity. That point was searingly made by the brother of Ahmed Merabet, a French police officer who was one of the people gunned down in the Charlie Hebdo attack. “My brother was Muslim,” said Malek Merabet, “and he was killed by two terrorists, by two false Muslims.”  Meet The New York Times’s Editorial Board »ShareSave CommentsShow Full Article                            xSharexEmailTwitterRedditGooglePermalinkhttp://nyti.ms/1xSUpgNToolsSaveMore In OpinionOp-Ed ContributorGermany Isn't Turning BackwardDespite anti-immigrant protests, the nation is more tolerant than ever.EditorialSpeaker Sheldon Silver Should Resign From New York AssemblyThe charges are astounding, and so is the idea that the speaker would try to hold onto his post.David BrooksThe Devotion Leap8:08 PM ETThe ability to move from the self-centeredness of dating to the self-sacrifice of love requires one to lower the boundaries between self and self.Back to topMain MenuHomeHomeWorldU.S.U.S. NewsPoliticsU.S. PoliticsThe UpshotNew YorkBusinessBusinessBusiness DayTechnologySportsSportsOpinionOpinionScienceHealthArtsArtsStyleStylePhotosVideoMost EmailedTimes PremierMore SectionsAutomobilesBlogsBooksFoodFoodFoodEducationHome & GardenMagazineMoviesMusicMedia & AdvertisingObituariesPublic EditorGreat Homes and DestinationsReal EstateSunday ReviewT MagazineTelevisionTheaterTimes WireTravelWeddingsCorrectionsRecommendationsSavedSettingsEdition:Type Size:AAANight Mode:DisableEnableAccount:SubscribeLog inDownload Our AppsNYTimesNYT NowDownload the NYTimes appHelpSubscribeFeedbackTerms of ServicePrivacy© 2015 The New York Times Company