In Australia, the MCG and Sydney Opera House were among those to carry the Tricolour’s hues, as did New York’s World Trade Centre and the London Eye.

The initiative sent a powerful message that the developed world stands as one with an ally grieving in the wake of a series of barbaric terrorist attacks.

It was, therefore, bitterly disappointing that over the weekend someone saw fit to plant the French national flag at the site of the yet-to-be built mosque in East Bendigo.

The misguided move was clearly a deliberate attempt to link Bendigo’s Muslim community to the actions of the extremists in Paris who perpetrated the killing sprees.

Such a deliberately provocative response serves only to further divide the community at a time when unity is the best defence against the actions of these radicals.

Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for the attacks, and French president Francois Hollande unequivocally laid the blame at the militant group’s feet. 

ISIS – also known as ISIL or Daesh – was formed by Sunni Arabs in the aftermath of the Iraq War. It has used shockingly brutal tactics to gain footholds not only in parts of Iraq and Syria, but also Nigeria, Libya and Afghanistan.

The weekend’s attacks in Paris are the latest in a long line of atrocities committed by ISIS and its affiliates on Western targets. But, amid the understandable sadness and outrage, it is worth remembering that the vast majority of casualties of this movement have, in fact, been fellow Muslims.

There are more than 1.5 billion Muslims in the world and at this time in history a very small percentage are intent on committing such acts. Yes, the perpetrators claim to be fighting a Koran-sanctioned jihad, but the reality is there are a myriad of religious, social and economic reasons behind IS’s rise.

Persecuting law-abiding Muslims who have fled countries beset by such unspeakable violence and taken up residence in Australia will only prove to be a counterproductive response to a complex global challenge.

- Ross Tyson, deputy editor