As the terrorist attacks erupted in Paris, people throughout the world mourned
with France, and appalled Muslims turned to social media using the hashtag
#NotInMyName.
Shehnaz Khan, a
journalist in London, tweeted, "Whoever kills an innocent person, it is as
though he has killed all of mankind." She was one of many people to share
this verse from the Quran.
"I don't
see ISIS as Muslim. I see terrorists when I look at ISIS," Philistine
Ayad, a Muslim feminist, told CNN. "To me, terror knows no religion. They
are picking and choosing aspects of the religion and twisting and distorting
them in order to justify their actions that are unjustifiable."
Ayad, who was
born in the United States, says she feels very Westernized. However, she says
it hurts when she wears her hijab, the scarf worn around her head, in public
and hears muttering about her religion from onlookers.
She hopes the
#NotInMyName campaign will help remove Islamophobia from Western culture.
"I want
there to be an understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims and a sense of
communal sympathy for the victims of terrorists, but not descending into
Islamophobia. If the #NotInMyName campaign can help expel some of that
Islamophobia and expel some of my fear ... then that would be wonderful,"
she said.
Ayad is also
expressing her views through art. A
drawing she posted to Twitter in the aftermath of the attacks portrays Ayad
carrying all the weights that she believes terrorists have created. She feels
that fingers are pointing at her just because she is Muslim.
Dania Saltagi is speaking out because she is upset that
terrorists are continuing to deface her religion and her reputation.
"Using
#NotInMyName is a way for me to not only condemn the terrorist attacks, but to
also spread the message that ISIS does not represent Islam. It is a way for me
to have a voice and break stereotypes, rather than stay silent," she told
CNN.
Being a student in an American university, Saltagi says she is
immersed in Western culture. She says was raised Muslim and taught principles
of love, compassion and peace.
"The
message that I want to spread is that the very small percentage of extremists
committing these murders do not represent the rest of the 1.6 billion Muslims
who absolutely condemn killing and violence," Saltagi says.
Along with
numerous other Muslims, Ayad and Saltagi continue to participate in the
campaign.
"#NotInMyName
means that we are taking that power back, to represent ourselves to what we
truly are and that is peaceful people," Ayad says.
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