I felt exhausted trying to write yet another message of shame when the kidnapper in Sydney was reported to have asked for an ISIL flag. “How many more times am I supposed to discredit such violence?” my inner voice cried. I looked at that act of violence and thought, “this is not my Islam!” I was upset and tired – until I stumbled upon the news coming from Pakistan: 148 people, most of them students and teachers, violently killed. The attack was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, which, it is reported, is planning another hit. I felt that my soul had been gutted. The despair was so powerful, I couldn’t move my fingers on the keyboard. And now comes the violent attack in Paris, killing 12.

Who are behind these attacks? What triggers this violence “in the name of Islam” all of a sudden and terrorizes the planet

Although previous condemnations about terrorism or violence in any form did not provide any benefit, it is a day to show where we stand. The world should know that this is not Islam. Whoever are perpetrating these attacks are doing it to harm Islam – this is their greatest objective behind all this violence – and to discredit Muslims by generating endless fear in the West via perpetual attacks popping up every now and then.

The world should not fall into this trap.

Hakan Yesilova

Editor

The Fountain