The unprecedented carnage that the terrorists behind the bombings in Brussels and other countries around the world, is beyond comprehension. The reaction to the attacks are unanimously one that is of shock and sadness. Unfortunately, there are some ignorant individuals who are blaming ordinary Muslims in a state of disillusion, about who the real perpetrators are.
Frustratingly, it is peaceful Muslims who are facing the wrath of retaliation from those who ignorantly associate the terrorist group with Islam. There is nothing 'Islamic' about daesh, they have destroyed mosques, killed mercilessly and the majority of victims that they have murdered have been Muslims themselves, a fact that many fail to realise.
These terrorists do in no way represent any of the tenets of Islam nor do they pattern their conduct following the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who taught peace and tolerance. They use religion, (which they clearly have no idea about) to hide behind their acts of evil, unaware that they are going completely against the very religion they claim to be part of.
It is sad that hate filled bigots are playing right into the hands of the terrorists and giving them exactly what they want by causing disunity and divisions within their respective communities.
The attacks on Brussels, Paris, Afghanistan and Pakistan and many other countries across the globe show that these terrorists are nothing but inhumane cowards. Daesh is a group of evil doers who follow no religion and choose to pattern their actions following no one but the devil.
The way the UK government is responding to the Brussels Bombings is only fuelling the terrorists plans by making many Muslims, including those as young as primary children, to feel isolated and interrogated under the Prevent strategy. Prevent, a government led scheme has reportedly enabled primary school children to potentially 'spy' on one another and report any 'suspicious activity'.
There have been numerous cases where parents are left in disbelief at the fact that their children are being referred to the counter extremist programme. In a recent case a 4 year old Muslim child was referred due to a drawing he made of a cucumber which his teachers mistook for something else.
If we look at how the UK government responded to the IRA terrorists in the 1970s you would see that both Labour and Conservatives made a clear decision to respond by ensuring that the terrorists were treated as criminals and not politically or religiously isolate a group. Why are Muslims not getting the same treatment? Why are Muslims being targeted and singled out for something that we have no connection with.
The ugly face of Islamophobia is again rearing its head and why is that? Could it be due to the way the mainstream media is reporting the events calling these terrorists Islamic? Could it be due to Donald Trump and his plague of prejudice that he chooses to spread? Or could it be due to the lack of understanding that what we really need to do to defeat terrorism is stay united, work together as one and create better interfaith understanding to clear misconceptions and ignorance.
The ugly face of Islamophobia is again rearing its head and why is that? Could it be due to the way the mainstream media is reporting the events calling these terrorists Islamic? Could it be due to Donald Trump and his plague of prejudice that he chooses to spread? Or could it be due to the lack of understanding that what we really need to do to defeat terrorism is stay united, work together as one and create better interfaith understanding to clear misconceptions and ignorance.
Arie Kruglanski, a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland who studies how people become terrorists said, "This is precisely what ISIS was aiming for -- to provoke communities to commit actions against Muslims,". Kruglanski further stated that, "Then ISIS will be able to say, 'I told you so. These are your enemies, and the enemies of Islam.'"
We as a community, as citizens who like to respect one another and create harmony need to realise this fact that if start the blame game we are only doing an injustice to ourselves and we are only giving these terrorists exactly what they want. We all have the ability to respect and value one another and stand up against hate of any kind.
The recent twitter backlash shown against a man who confronted an innocent Muslim woman about the Brussels attacks showed that there are people who are trying to stay united and counteract any form of divisions. The man claimed that the Muslim women gave a 'mealy mouthed reply' without realising that he would later be inundated with responses from people of all faiths and backgrounds making fun of his tweet in support of the Muslim lady.
Let us promote peace and stability not only in the UK but around the world and show these terrorists that we will not be defeated.