We've all heard the famous saying, "Never judge a book by its cover", then why do we always end up stereotyping? The recent attack in Paris left a scar on every single person who is empathetic towards their fellow human beings. It doesn't matter if you're a Muslim, Jew, Christian or Hindu. To have an affinity is part of humanity. How can a person go about, ruthlessly shooting and taking the lives of innocent people, claiming to be a part of an Islamic Group? Just because they take the name of God, doesn't really mean they believe in Him. They certainly do not believe in a religion which means "Peace". If your religion defies and prevents you from murdering and assassinating, then how can you assert and testify that you are a Muslim?
Allah mentions in the Qur'an
"... whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.
(Surah Al-Maida Chapter 5 verse 32)
It clearly states that if one person is killed, it is as if the whole mankind was wiped out completely. When a child is beaten up, we feel their pain. When there is a mass execution, the whole world mourns and agonizes over the brutality. When a mother loses a child, or a sister loses her brother, we put ourselves in their shoes. We all suffer, mentally and emotionally. The wounds are fresh, our hearts grieve and hatred cultivates inside us, not towards the religion but the people who are behind these carnage. We cannot blame one person. You cannot just criticize every human being if one person transgresses.
A lady came up to me today and told me how deeply saddened she was for the Muslim Community. She said you cannot hijack someone's religion and kill in the name of Islam. I felt a great sense of relief as this was coming from her right after the attack in Paris. Ironically, the social media was out-poured with fury and animosity towards the Muslims, but a person with wisdom would definitely support what appears to be right. I told her that we are grieved by the situation and the massacre of all the innocent people in Syria, Palestine, Paris, Beirut, Baghdad and Kenya. Our religion strongly condemns these ferocious acts and we do not encourage the killing of any innocent person, be it a Muslim or a Jew. Just like we cannot blame the whole community for a hate crime committed by a Non-Muslim, we cannot blame the whole Muslim Community for such violence.
We all stand in this together. Whether you're Black or White, Muslim or Christian, American or Pakistani, we are all human beings in the end. We may not share the same religion, same culture, same language and same views, but we definitely share the same sentiments. We all have emotions and feelings, and our sincerest condolences go out to all the families who lost their loved ones in this deadly act.