SHAFAQNA – Since Friday, anti-Muslim sentiment has pervaded the political conversation. Almost all of the Republicans running for president in 2016 in the US have called for blocking Syrian Muslim refugees from entering the US, citing concerns over terrorist infiltration. Meanwhile, more than half of the country’s governors said they’ll do anything within their power to stop Syrians from resettling in their states.
While many have stood up for Islam using hashtags like #MuslimsAreNotTerrorist, there has been a wave of fear-driven backlash in recent days. Here are just some of the incidents since Friday’s attacks:
On Monday, vandals targeted a mosque in Pflugerville, Texas, tearing up a Quran and covering it in feces.
Meanwhile, police say a mosque in Ontario, Canada, was deliberately set on fire Sunday evening.
And in Florida, several mosques received threatening calls. The FBI determined, however, they were not legitimate threats.
The answer can never be hate, and anger should not drive the narrative – otherwise we are no better than those we call terrorists.
Daesh targets civilians …. hatred targets innocent men, women and children. Does it really matter on which side of the fence violence is sitting on or what name it carries?
Let us fight evil with what is better!