“These people (terrorists) are misrepresenting our Islam”. The sentiment resonates even on our campus. We don’t know for sure yet, but early reports suggest the number responsible for the Paris attacks was not much larger. Muslims, Europeans, Americans, Asians – we all have homework to do to eradicate this menace, and the burden must be shared by all of us.
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Muslims who had not uttered a word about Beirut were now tweeting their anger about Beirut receiving less importance than Paris.
It’s easy to pinpoint an entire group of people for the actions conducted by a small minority. It’s trying to win propaganda battles, and for ISIS, the best propaganda victory is when it gets to portray itself as the sole, legitimate protector of Muslims all over the world.
Shutting down mosques would be the ultimately propaganda victory for ISIS. “Once you sort of escalate it by declaring ISIS to be an apostate regime, an apostate “state”, that puts more pressure on them to do something”, Fadel says.
‘These are criminals and cowards with no regard for the sanctity of human life.
Over a hundred innocent people were killed and many were injured and are still suffering greatly.
Those at the mosque wonder if the attacks in Paris were on the mind of the shooter, but Bhatti says they condemn those attacks and all acts of terrorism. The letter did not receive mainstream media coverage, but can be downloaded in several languages online.
However, Butt remains positive, stating Canada is a peaceful country with a majority of understanding people residing in the country.
In all, 129 people died in what the French prime minister labelled an act of war.
A Muslim scholar has released a YouTube video telling ISIS terrorist to “f*ck off”.
We should isolate, denigrate and thereby diminish the terrorists. If so, then we must accept the fact that this is really a war against Islam.
The impulse to separate Islam from the sins and crimes of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is understandable, and it often includes statements such as ISIS has “nothing to do with Islam” or that ISIS is merely “using Islam” as a pretext. Islamophobia – in the face of these terrorist groups being an existential threat to our society and security – is tantamount to aiding and abetting the enemy. Proposing to close national borders to any and all further refugees only serves to trap those refugees in the grips of fear and violence, and effectively makes other countries enablers of the exact forces they seek to keep out of their own borders.
Islamophobes and the extremists have something in common. Both of them misinterpret the fundamental teachings of Islam. Terrorists want to hear that the West is against Islam in order to mobilize their agenda.
The mosque’s name, Masjid Al-Salaam, means “Mosque of Peace” in Arabic.
“Some of them go a couple of days without water, electricity and food”. Our selective grief, to mourn when white, Western bodies are killed by non-white insurgents but to ignore when non-white, non-Western bodies bear the brunt of terrorism or imperialist war, is one such pretext.
While I’m required to stand for justice and condemn all acts of evil, I refuse to apologise for the actions of evil people, ISIS or anyone else. So why insist on the label, unless you have an axe to grind about a faith you deem inferior? We must do it all together, united rather than divided. Our souls and sympathy are with all the families of the victims.
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Sonam Sheth is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in economics and statistics.
