The ISIS terrorist attack in Paris has left the world reeling. ISIS's brutality in their acts of barbarism have repeatedly shown the contempt these individuals have for life, proving the danger they pose to humanity.
But there is a great gulf between the Islamic extremists and the Muslim community at large. We know ISIS is a group of violent radicals interested in creating chaos and destruction in Western countries, just as we know there is an enormous majority of the Islamic community who are not radicals, but who are also victims of ISIS's barbarism and terrorist attacks.
Now is the time for the Islamic community to produce a global leader to use their voice to unify and lead. Time for the peace-loving Muslim community that has remained in silence, overshadowed by fear, to come into the light and produce a Gandhi, a Mandela, an extraordinary leader for peace to help them face the global community with pride by reaffirming their rejection of the barbarism practiced by the Islamic State. It is time for the Muslim community to step forward, raise their voices, march and clarify its position openly, before the Islamophobic fear that is beginning to take over the collective Western psyche degenerates into acts of violence against the innocent and peaceful Muslim community.
The world is outraged. The grief, mourning and fear in big cities continues to grow as ISIS continues its barbaric intimidation campaign, promising that no one will ever sleep peacefully again.
The war has taken a new shape. The ISIS attack in Paris has provoked a change in the behavior of civilians in large cities. Areas that were once purely for recreation and entertainment, such as concerts, sporting events and tourist sites, have been reinforced with police and army presences. The target of the attacks is the civilians, and that does not discriminate based on race, age, religion, economic status or nationality.
In the past, we knew where the terrorist enemies of the West were located, but now the nature of this war has changed. ISIS and its followers have infiltrated down to the roots of Western societies. Now, hundreds of its members are citizens of Western countries, lone wolves with no criminal records who hold European or American passports but share a philosophy whose goal is the extermination of Western civilization.
Someone has to have a formula to defeat ISIS. Who has it? Who will discover it first? This is The question we are all asking, since there is no safe place in a war against a faceless enemy, when we could be surprised on any corner. But there is still hope, because even though ISIS may kill hundreds or even thousands in their brutal attacks, they can never eliminate us all.