Don’t turn to hate

The world was shocked on Friday evening by news that Paris, the city of lights, had been hard hit by a terrorist attack. Although not as big in the headlines, another attack had hit Beirut the day before. What these two attacks had in common were the perpetrators – ISIS.

As is sadly the case following attacks such as these, some people focus their anger on the religion that groups such as these claim is behind their motives. Things came to a hilt in nearby Peterborough, with the city’s lone mosque set on fire.

Imam Shakir Pandor, the spiritual head of the Oshawa Islamic Centre, says that whenever attacks such as these take place, those in the Muslim community are extra cautious, because at the end of the day, they don’t know if that person they bump into on the street is going to take out their anger on them. While there haven’t been any incidents as severe as those in Peterborough, Pandor says the Islamic school in the city has been the victim of vandals in the past.

Actions such as these, no matter how small they may seem, are simply not fair to a group that, by the vast majority, is peaceful and just trying to live out their daily lives. One can’t judge a religion of 1.6 billion people worldwide based on the actions of a few.

“It’s unfortunate that we get affected by this more than the regular person,” Pandor says. “A lot of times because we’re already condemning it, but we’re made to seem like we’re part of the extremist group.”

One would be hard pressed to find someone who won’t condemn the actions that took place before the weekend, including those in the Muslim community.

It’s a given that groups such as ISIS do not deserve a place on the world stage. Any group that perverts a religion for their own twisted goal is one that, quite frankly, shouldn’t be around.

But the answer to eradicating groups such as these is not to turn on the religion as a whole. Don’t let the heinous actions of a few dictate how the rest are treated.