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heinous attack took place on New Year’s Eve at a nightclub in Istanbul, killing 39 people and injuring 65 others. Security forces reported that the terrorist was a single person and perpetrated the onslaught within seven minutes.

Not long before, Turkey faced two other bloody blasts in which innocent people were martyred. The first one was on Dec. 10, the Besiktas stadium attack in which police officers and some civilians were martyred, and the other one was the Kayseri attack on Dec. 17 when a bus full of soldiers leaving for a day off was bombed.

In this latest attack, those who lost their lives included tourists of foreign origin. Analysts, anchors, politicians and journalists who appeared on TV news all offered condolences to the families who lost loved ones. Additionally, Turkish leaders received condolences from leaders from many parts of the world, including Russia, Iran, the United States, the European Union, the European Parliament, Britain, France, NATO and many more. They strongly condemned the attack and offered support.

Such gestures of goodwill are indeed welcome and at the same time extremely important in cases of emergency. However, condemning the terror attacks without offering a practical solution is virtually useless. The erroneous ideology of the perpetrators, whether communists or radicals, must be addressed in order to remove the hate harbored in their hearts. For example, those who commit such despicable massacres in the name of Islam are actually murderers, according to the Quran. God forbids all kinds of violence and condemns those involved in such acts.

People should keep in mind that terrorism will not be stopped merely through condemnation by world leaders, or simply by saying “Islam is a religion of peace”. It is true that the Islam based solely on the Quran and detached from fabricated sayings and erroneous interpretations is a religion of peace.

However, the same does not apply for the radicals. Therefore, to solve this problem, it is essential to show these facts to the Islamic world with proof from the Quran. The best way of freeing people from this radical philosophy is via systematic and accurate educational campaigns based on the Quran, which is based on peace and love.

Indeed, a wide-ranging campaign is urgently needed to purge the Islamic world from the superstitions inflicting it. The support of the Western world is certainly important, but the real duty lies upon Muslims themselves.

Abdullah Agar, a security specialist, serves as a model of expressing the education campaign I’ve been speaking of consistently for years. While giving an analysis on CNN Turk concerning a series of attacks targeting Turkey, Agar stated that in order to put an end to terrorism, the authentic Islam described in the Quran should be narrated and love should definitively prevail all around the world.

Citing a verse from the Quran, he said that one of the causes of terrorism is that everyone has their own understanding of faith and each wants to attain power to eliminate the others. They harbor hate for those having a different approach to faith, like sectarian differences. He ended by saying that all countries involved should act in unity to work on a solution.

Following the nightclub attack, the incitement of hate speech, especially through social media, by radical-minded people against Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations were claimed to be the cause of the massacre. Yet, celebrating the birth of Jesus is something Muslims could enjoy and not be disturbed by. Moreover, Jesus is also a prophet in Islam, someone Muslims love dearly.

Indeed, some small circles want to change Turkey into a place of mourning and force people into a dark and backward life devoid of modernity, high-quality lifestyles and entertainment. However, they will never have an effect on Turkey as long as we have our conscious fellow citizens who value and are willing to protect our homeland to the end. Besides, Turkey is a modern country where people choose how they want to live.

On the other hand, it is well-known that terrorists aim to instill fear, demoralize masses of people and disrupt lives. They want to damage society by creating hatred, paranoia and mistrust. If terror cannot make people mourn, if it puts forth a sense of awareness and solidarity among them, if people are firm about not leaving their homelands to fall into the hands of terrorists, then it means the actions of the terrorists have failed.

People should be brave and continue to live their ordinary lives and not hide by avoiding going out to public places. However, people should be very cautious and take all the necessary precautions for their security and inform the police immediately whenever they see something suspicious or out of the ordinary. It is always the people’s will, their resolve and courage that deter terrorists.

Consequently, everyone has a duty in countering terrorism. The government and the opposing parties should join forces by putting aside political accounts.

Moreover, citizens should show a determined stance and act in solidarity as a way of showing their support for the state.

Instead of long, unwise, vain utterances, it is important to give the right response when they face a terror attack and discuss practical solutions, such as launching an intellectual campaign on a national level. National awareness should be aroused and a counter-ideological campaign should be expanded and implemented against the ideology of terror.  
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The writer is the author of the bestseller Islam Denounces Terrorism.