The fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris may seem to have nothing to do with Muslims. There are no facts to indicate that it was the work of real extremists from the Muslim community, although virtual extremists have taken responsibility for it, as one would expect. However, it has become a rule in certain circles to blame Muslims for any unclear situation. Interestingly, those who used to be blamed for all problems, who now consider themselves liberals and defenders of «Judeo-Christian» (?) Europe, are now trying to blame Muslims for everything.
This time, individual comments and even likes from bloggers with Muslim names under the news of the cathedral fire became the basis for such accusations. But if we are going to blame an entire community on this basis, we could do the same for other religious, ethnic, and ideological groups. Let’s not make unfounded accusations.
For example, here is the vicious reaction to this fire by the well-known «intellectual Russian nationalist» Egor Prosvirnin. As one can understand from his commentary, the French got what they deserved for supporting the «Ukrainian executioners» who destroyed an Orthodox temple in Donbass.
Another lesser known like-minded person didn’t hold back and asked the French about the events of 1812.
Well-known communist blogger Dmitry Puchkov («Goblin») happily reposted a sarcastic comment about the «White Guard» audience, trolling them with arguments they use in similar cases in Russia. As it seems, the author doesn’t show any remorse about what happened.
But why stop there? A year ago in Russia an entire Catholic cathedral in Gothic style, very similar to Notre Dame, was burned as part of a traditional festival called Maslenitsa. It wasn’t the actual cathedral, but a straw replica in the Nikola-Lenivets Park in the Kaluga region. It should be noted that during Maslenitsa in Russia straw effigies of witches are burned, which clearly shows the attitude of the participants towards Catholic churches.
But not only «Russian patriots» — Orthodox and Communists — rejoiced. Others, whom liberals, apparently trying to reconcile their split personalities and roots, persistently try to associate with a certain «Judeo-Christian» civilization, also found joy.
Another talented people who expressed themselves are the Serbs. It wasn’t just a few commentators, but a very large media outlet affiliated with the current president, Aleksandar Vucic, who characterized the Notre Dame fire as God’s punishment for recently including the flag of Kosovo among other national flags.
The well-known Ukrainian political analyst Taras Berezovets decided to make jokes about the cathedral fire in the context of the Ukrainian pre-election campaign. However, the French did not appreciate the humor.
In short, those who wanted to gloat or joke about what the French and other Europeans (real or fake) perceived as their loss were found not only among Muslims, but also among representatives of the same ethnic or religious communities, whose members were indignant about the «reaction of the barbarians». It would therefore be worthwhile to remind them of a Chinese proverb that says that one should not throw stones at passers-by when one is living in a glass house.
As far as the general mood of Muslims is concerned, our observations show that it was rather reserved and dignified, especially in view of the fact that they themselves regularly suffer losses, whether of cultural heritage or of human life, to which France, with its outstanding culture, is not immune.