Charlie Hebdo: Intolerant Islam is the creation of an unfree Muslim world

It won’t come as a surprise to hear a section of Muslims worldwide rejoice at the dastardly terror attack on the Paris office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. They will claim the killing of journalists, whose weapon of offense was their humour, is a just retribution against those who mocked and blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad, little realising that it violates the very spirit of the Quran.

What precisely is the spirit of the Quran is open to interpretations and contestations. However, since Chapter 2, Verse 256 says that “there is no compulsion in religion”, it is only natural to assume a person has the right to accept or reject Islam and pursue other alternatives, including not adhering to any faith.