Isis hates Middle Eastern civilisation too

As it became clear that responsibility for the horrific massacres in Paris lay with so-called Islamic State, prominent figures sought to place the events in context. Jeb Bush, the Republican presidential hopeful, called it part of “an organised effort to destroy western civilisation”. Rupert Murdoch tweeted: “Paris outrage not an attack on all humanity, but an attack on us, ie, western civilisation”. The commentator Iain Martin put it like this: “Western civilisation – democracy, free speech, free association, the rule of law, prosperity – is under attack by barbarians.”
The terrorists certainly had civilisation in their crosshairs. They spread chaos and killing through a city famous for its culture, its intermingling of influences, its freedom of expression. In as much as they targeted one of Europe’s great capitals, it was an assault on European values – the way our citizens choose to live and behave. However, it is wrong to frame the atrocities as attacks on “western civilisation” alone.