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We heard an all too familiar refrain in the wake of the horrifying attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper, last month. After Islamist extremists murdered 12 people, some called on "moderate Muslims" to stand up to the fundamentalist adherents of their faith. Other commentators blamed the attack on policies regarding integration and immigration, implicating a whole community with the violence of a few.We heard an all too familiar refrain in the wake of the horrifying attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper, last month. After Islamist extremists murdered 12 people, some called on "moderate Muslims" to stand up to the fundamentalist adherents of their faith. Other commentators blamed the attack on policies regarding integration and immigration, implicating a whole community with the violence of a few.
A video by a Dutch filmmaker Abdelkarim El-Fassi, featured above, dramatizes how wrong-headed this impulse is. A video by Dutch filmmaker Abdelkarim El-Fassi, featured above, dramatizes how wrong-headed this impulse is.
It shows adults lecturing young children on their guilt by association with terrorist acts. A boy with a mop of brown hair is told he resembles Muslim terrorists elsewhere and ought to apologize. He says "I'm sorry" five times in a desperately forlorn voice.It shows adults lecturing young children on their guilt by association with terrorist acts. A boy with a mop of brown hair is told he resembles Muslim terrorists elsewhere and ought to apologize. He says "I'm sorry" five times in a desperately forlorn voice.
A blonde toddler is made to feel guilty for sharing a resemblance with Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Breivik. "So it's up to you to prove them wrong," says an adult, before forcing the child to make an apology. (It's an ironic gesture, given how no one calls on "moderate" Christians to take responsibility for the violence of "domestic" terrorists.) A blond toddler is made to feel guilty for sharing a resemblance with Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Breivik. "So it's up to you to prove them wrong," says an adult, before forcing the child to make an apology. (It's an ironic gesture, given how no one calls on "moderate" Christians to take responsibility for the violence of "domestic" terrorists.)
The video ends with an adult posing a child a question.The video ends with an adult posing a child a question.
"Do you think you're a superhero or a villain?""Do you think you're a superhero or a villain?"
"A villain," the child answers."A villain," the child answers.
"Why?" asks the adult."Why?" asks the adult.
"Because you told me so.""Because you told me so."
The message is clear and poignant. It's also deeply unsettling given who is voicing it.The message is clear and poignant. It's also deeply unsettling given who is voicing it.
"Sure, it’s totally unethical and pedagogically irresponsible, and yet as a society we’ve practiced this on the macro-level for years. We’ve been talking certain communities into feelings of collective guilt for years," El-Fassi told the Independent. "Sure, it’s totally unethical and pedagogically irresponsible, and yet as a society we’ve practiced this on the macro-level for years. We’ve been talking certain communities into feelings of collective guilt for years," Fassi told the Independent.
The mop-haired boy in the video happens to be his nephew. One of the children in the video happens to be his nephew.
"This has to stop, otherwise the problem will fester on for generations to come," he says. "I don’t want my nephew Hamza, who can be seen in the film, to be held accountable for matters that have nothing to do with him. He is a third generation Dutch-Moroccan. There is no justification whatsoever for him being treated differently from his white peers.""This has to stop, otherwise the problem will fester on for generations to come," he says. "I don’t want my nephew Hamza, who can be seen in the film, to be held accountable for matters that have nothing to do with him. He is a third generation Dutch-Moroccan. There is no justification whatsoever for him being treated differently from his white peers."
The video, dubbed #LetsUnite, is now the subject of a supportive Twitter hashtag campaign.The video, dubbed #LetsUnite, is now the subject of a supportive Twitter hashtag campaign.