Orhan Pamuk Hopes Europe Not to Bring Down Wrath upon All Muslims

The attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo is "a blow to those who, like me, believe that Muslims can live peacefully in Europe side by side with Christians," the Nobel Prize winner in literature, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk wrote in The Times. This attack is an attempt to kill the hope for such co-existence, he said.

In countries where freedom of speech is threatened there is a strong tradition of satirical magazines. In Turkey, these magazines are always under pressure. According to him, now in Turkey, many people share the anger and discouragement of the French.

"Freedom of speech should be defended not only by writers. It is the duty of all of us: the duty to inform the world about our culture and about the worlds in which we live. We must stand up and defend freedom of speech, in spite of everything," Pamuk said.

"I am confident that Europe will not fall into the trap and will not bring down its wrath upon all Muslims at once. I hope that escalation of these violent attacks will not happen, but there is a fear that the escalation will occur," Pamuk said. -02D-