We all know that no religion condones extremism or barbarity. So qualifying extremism as Islamic is counter intuitive.
Source/Credit: Stanford County Sun
By Shehla Ahmad | February 25, 2015
Bias or prejudice has to be rejected at the outset. It should not matter who is the victim of such prejudice.
As an American Muslim I find it comforting that President Obama is making the vital distinction between extremism/terrorism and religion of Islam. In my opinion, we all need to single out terrorists instead of allowing them to misuse the name of Islam to try to win false sympathies of ignorant or vulnerable individuals.
Extremists are a common enemy of all people around the world. They are the enemy of Islam/Muslims as well. Their barbarity is targeted indiscriminately toward anyone or everyone. They target those who do not endorse their ideology or simply whom they don't like. Unfortunately their actions are resulting in loss of many innocent and valuable human lives. At the same time, they are trying to falsely attribute their actions to their so-called understanding of Islam. In reality, if they do anything for Islam at all, it is only damaging its image.
Terrorists seek the false credibility of religion. If we add the word Islamist while referring to extremists, we may only be helping the nefarious cause of extremists. We all know that no religion condones extremism or barbarity. So qualifying extremism as Islamic is counter intuitive.
Terrorists want to breed/disseminate hatred. I am afraid events like the Chapel Hill shootings can be an aftermath of carelessly linking Muslims with extremism. Then, the apparent media bias in the reporting of such incidents would also favor the hate agenda. I value responsible reporting, but it ceases to be responsible if it's selective and not practiced across the board.
Let's not get into the trap of extremists who want to propagate hatred to divide us. Let's stand united against them and fail them in their self-seeking agenda.
It's not just a matter of winning or losing. It will be victory for humanity.
Read original post here:Perspective: United against Extremists | Shehla Ahmad
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