The suspected shooters who killed 10 journalists from French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and two police officers in an attack Wednesday have been connected to Al-Qaeda by many sources.
The Council on American Islamic Relations cautions that jumping to conclusions about the attackers can deepen anti-Islamic sentiments both intentionally and unintentionally.
Moussa Elbayoumy is chairman for the Kansas branch of CAIR. He says that while his organization remains cautious, they’re relieved by the media response surrounding the attack so far.
"We have had a long standing concern that the media is very quick to label something as ‘Islamic’ or [will make] references to people that wanted to be martyrs," Elbayoumy said. "But in this particular case, I think people have been more restrained."
CAIR’s national branch condemned the shooting mere hours afterwards, offering condolences to the affected families.
