The following letter was published by Edmonton Journal, on Dec. 13, 2015
As an Ahmadi Muslim, it is very upsetting whenever extremists commit inhumane actions in the name of Islam. They have done nothing but distort the image of this religion to justify their evil desires. And whenever these acts are carried out, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is always at the forefront to collectively and unequivocally condemn these actions. However, it is demoralizing to see people, including some political leaders, associate the actions of extremist groups to an entire group of 1.6 billion people.
Islamophobia is at its peak after the recent Paris attacks and the San Bernardino shooting. Incidents of mosques being vandalized or Muslim women being abused in public are becoming a daily routine.
The battle between radicals and the far right can only be fought by the moderates coming together. We must fight extremism with education. We must fight hate with love. We cannot let the act of extremists create a division among us. The times call for dialogue and understanding. And that is one reason why the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has carried out campaigns like ‘Stop the CrISIS’ and ‘JeSuis Hijabi’, to educate everyone that Islam is not the enemy, only a few individuals are. I invite everyone to visit our mosques across the country any time to learn about Islam first-hand and see what we really do inside mosques.
Fasih Malik, Calgary
