I want to thank well-meaning non-Muslims who, in the wake of these attacks, have emphasised that they have been carried out by a small, twisted minority. A terrorist’s goal is to sow hatred and discord, and by not giving in, you are defeating their plans.
But I want to say that as a Muslim, I wish that we weren’t so quick to emphasise that this has nothing to do with us. While I personally have never killed anyone and none of my friends and family have ever resorted to violence, radicalism has everything to do with Islam. And the failure to address that out of a well-intentioned commitment to tolerance is making the problem worse.
ISIS is a Muslim organisation, and it is an Islamic problem. Let me say it again to be perfectly clear. ISIS is a Muslim organisation, and they are a cancer at the heart of Islam. And the problem will not go away until Muslims confront that.
Read more from a Singaporean Muslim.
Much like the Westboro Baptist Church, would be in some respects considered a Christian problem?
Differences being (1) a good many Christians despise and speak out against the Westboro BC. (2) The WBC, isn’t destroying historical buildings and artifacts. (3) The WBC isn’t forcing people to “convert or die” and is not killing people. (4) The WBC is not committing acts of terrorism. (5) the Southern Poverty Law Center lists The Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group*.
* Note however, that the SPLC does not list CAIR, al Qeda or ISIS (ISIL) as hate groups. Nor does in list the Democratic Party and it’s long history of racism and hate, or Rev Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ (although it does list Nation of Islam who is closely associated with Wright’s church.