‘What’s in a name?’ quipped William Shakespeare. A lot if you happen to be a Muslim. Even though Islam teaches that terrorism has no religion, people all over the world have been infected with Islamophobia following the recent #ParisAttacks .
The seven apparently co-ordinated terrorist attacks in the French capital on Friday night, for which Isis took responsibility, have prompted heartsick fury among Muslims in France and elsewhere in Europe, torn between anger at the atrocities committed in the name of Islam and frustration that they have to defend themselves at all.
Using the hashtags #IAmAMuslim and #NotInMyName , Muslim Twitter users have united in grief with Parisians while expressing their abhorrence towards the violence carried out by terrorists in the name of Islam.
Some of the gems from Twitter:
Islam doesn’t promote hatred and violence, this is the guide of war by my Prophet. #paris #ParisAttacks #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/Yrb2MiRkYU
— eshan921 (@eshan921) November 16, 2015 Terrorism is NOT Islam! Stop ignorance! #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/d7dPbMObib
— Marco di Noia (@marcodinoia) November 15, 2015 The #NotInMyName is a fine gesture by #Muslims .However, #ISIS doesn’t operate out of social media.Revolution & Reformation is the solution.
— Monicka Vadera (@mvadera) November 16, 2015 “Everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.” We must refuse hate and make our world whole again. #lovewins #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/ILfmSstih5
— Audette (@AudetteExel) November 15, 2015 The #ParisAttacks are #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/t5hlmok9V6
— Robyn R. Sadoon (@ralsadoon) November 14, 2015 It is unfortunate that because of the actions of a few, billions are labelled terrorists. Religious discrimination exists. There is no doubt about it. It is a sad world when Muslims have to take to Twitter to say “#IAmAMuslim and I condemn the Paris attacks” in order to show solidarity with France. All this just to prove that Islam is a religion of peace.
Religious scholar, Reza Aslan, has the best response to Islamophobia:
