In the wake of the Paris attack, French flags are popping up all over Facebook as a symbol of solidarity with the French people who suffered at the hands of ISIS. Social pressure to include the Facebook encouraged red, white and blue filter on profile pictures mounted exponentially within hours, which is all well and good right? There's certainly nothing wrong with a little show of solidarity.
So why all the controversy? Why were Turkish football fans allegedly booing during a memorial minute's silence at a Turkey – Greece friendly football match?
The answer to this has been reconstructed by the right wing media to demonize Muslims, as per usual. The Daily Mail and The Sun have shone a dim light on a foreign culture they don't understand and used it to promote more hatred.
So that's the story they spin, Muslims everywhere are evil, but what's the flip side? What happens when we turn the light on?
As with most religions, there are various degrees of participants amongst the individual. It would be naive to think that there were no pro-ISIS members in the crowd, but it would be more so to believe that every one supported ISIS. Remember two bombs were detonated in Ankara on October 10th, so they have a recent reminder of the horrors of terrorism.
Explanations have now started to surface as to why this happened. Mustafa Ozsari, a Masters student, has given a thorough breakdown.
In short, it all comes down to culture. In Turkish culture, minute silences are rarely silent. Chanting can be heard throughout the crowd, a chant that respects the deceased and denounces the terrorists responsible. There's a funny irony that the people who claim that everyday Muslims should come out and denounce terrorism, yet when they do, it is misinterpreted thanks to an ignorant or conniving press. The chant 'Alluhu Akbar' was allegedly heard as The Daily Mail claims. In the video you can hear 'Şehitler ölmez, vatan bölünmez ', in English: 'Martyrs, they do not die (they are immortal), homeland (land, our land) is indivisible.'
There is another explanation. Turkish fans are upset with the hypocrisy of the Western world's ignorance towards similar attacks, specifically the attack in Ankara mentioned previously. This brings us back to the Facebook French Flag filter. There have been 298 terrorist attacks in 2015 so far. The highest death toll in a single attack has been over 2000, which happened between January 3rd and 7th in Nigeria. There weren't any Nigerian flags appearing on my news-feed then. In fact the Paris attack was the only attack that received this special attention.
When it comes down to it, these explanations seem contradictory, but in reality, people vary. It is probably that elements of both of these theories combine in the truth. Political views are different from person to person as much in Islamic countries as much as in Western civilizations, as does commitment to faith.
It is important to acknowledge that the Facebook French Flag filter users are not at fault here. Yes it is nice for the global stage to show this symbolic solidarity, the fault lies with Facebook. When the designer of the filter published this work, he was either horrendously ignorant to think that the Paris attack was an isolated incident, or he made a conscious decision and put a higher value on the lives of French people than people of other cultures. It is a starkly clear symbol that the world only cares when white westerners are murdered in the street.
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