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Your letters: Terror attacks under an Islamic name
How are Muslims affected by these terror attacks under an Islamic name? Iâd like to share my story as a Muslim residing in the UK
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ow are Muslims affected by these terror attacks under an Islamic name? I'd like to share my story as a Muslim residing in the UK. Like many others, we cannot deny it. We have lingering thoughts and fears that an attack could hit us or our friends and family as well.
Like many others, we also get words of caution from our parents and our families to be careful and vigilant at all times. It could have been me or any other Muslim enjoying the music show at the Bataclan concert hall or taking a night stroll near the stadium or attending a funeral. But there's more to it for us.
We fear that a friend whose city was just bombed will suddenly discover a newfound negative sentiment toward Islam. I was living in a western country after 9/11 and remember distinctly how my own mother was assaulted in the street because she wore a hijab.
Hence, we think about how our Muslim friends feel when they walk down the street today. We are anxious about more scrutiny when going through the airport. We worry that the response toward Muslim immigrants in Europe will turn from an embrace to one of rejection.
We fear more discrimination, as if there is not enough of that in this world already.
We also start to question our own identities and how or whether we should act.
Why is it seemingly always the Muslims who conduct these terror attacks? We remind ourselves that Islam is a religion of peace. Nonetheless, with each attack, it becomes more and more challenging to keep trusting ourselves when we say this.
In particular, we laymen who do not really know about Islam find it daunting to have to discuss these issues about which we have only superficial knowledge.
We tire of reminding others that we are also victims of these acts. We hear debates about us in the news from which we seem to be largely precluded. There are headlines about us ' 'Muslims speaking out against terrorism' ' and wonder whether this is enough? Should we decouple our identities from these heinous acts or do we need to do more than 'speak out'?
Let me assure you that every time we hear of these terrorist attacks, not only do we Muslims mourn like the rest of the world, but our hearts simply sink. We dread and beg quietly, 'Please, not in the name of Islam again. Please.'
Aulia S.
Britain
