Twitter mocks Rupert Murdoch and Bill Maher for Islam comments

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has faced a barrage of criticism after tweeting on Saturday Muslims must be “held responsible” for “their growing jihadist cancer”.

The Australian News Corp chief followed up his initial comment with another, warning of a “big jihadist danger looming everywhere”.

Murdoch’s tweets came in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, which saw two gunmen slaughter 12 people on Wednesday in the French capital. French brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi could be heard shouting “the Prophet has been avenged” in amateur video of the attack.

Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical magazine well known for its anti-Islam cartoons. The Kouachi brothers were killed by police on Friday after a standoff at a printing factory in a village outside Paris.

There are around two billion Muslims across the globe and Murdoch’s slur that all should be held accountable for attacks such as the one in Paris caused anger and ridicule on Twitter.

In the US, comedian Bill Maher, known for his anti-Islam views, on Friday spoke on his show Real Time about how he believes “hundreds of millions of Muslims support an attack like [Charlie Hebdo]”.

He also took to Twitter in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack to share his thoughts on “moderate” Muslims.

Maher, like Murdoch, was immediately and widely criticised for his comments.

Many prominent Muslims have spoken out about the attack, not to apologise for it, but to distance their religion from the justifications given by the attackers.

Tariq Ramadan, professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, explained in a Facebook statement it is humanity’s responsibility to stop attacks such as the one at Charlie Hebdo’s offices.

“There is a big difference between asserting a responsible word that, on the one hand, denounces and condemns the heinous acts committed in the name of our religion or our nation, and, on the other hand, cultivating a sense of guilt and self-flagellation,” he wrote.

“What is happening today is not an issue for the Muslims invited, again and again, to apologise. It is the responsibility of all of us, all human beings, as we are called to stand up and denounce, together, all the horrors, wherever they are in the name of our principles, on behalf of all victims, with the same force, the same determination, the same courage.