We do not owe the world an apology!

Why does every Muslim feel the need to go into an overdrive and start explaining how Islam means peace, preaches tolerance and is against violence whenever some criminals with crazy ideologies act against humanity? Why do we feel embarrassed or think that we owe an apology to the rest of the world when some individuals with sickened minds go on to commit heinous crimes? Why are leaders of Islamic countries the first to condemn terror attacks? I am in no way condoning any terrorist attacks, but I feel strongly about the way media depicts it so as to make every Muslim feel responsible.

Whenever reports state that the culprits are Muslim, we feel a moral obligation to explain ourselves. Terrorism has nothing to do with any religion and that was evident in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that took place in 2012 in the US. It was an act of terrorism performed by an individual with beliefs that are not concordant with normal values. But no reports mentioned his religion or ethnicity, only that his name was Adam Lanza and that he was an American citizen. Similarly the attacks in Paris were conducted by Said and Cherif Kouachi, two French individuals.

On a different note, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world with a quarter of the world’s population being Muslims. As true believers, we cannot sit idle or watch silently as some people insult our religion and our beloved Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] in the name of freedom of expression. Where were these Islamic leaders when the said people made a mockery of our religion? Why did they not condemn those cartoons with the same vigor as they are doing now against various attacks? Islamic scholars around the world should inform their followers of the correct way to protest against all of this — keeping in mind the basic principles of Islam. In addition, as Muslim parents we have a duty to teach our children the real Islamic values, morals and to make sure that they do not deviate from that path.

- The reader is an Indian homemaker based in Abu Dhabi