Australian Muslims Welcome Wider Community During National Mosque Open Day (Photo : Getty Images)
Although the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) is made up of fellow Islam followers, many Muslims insist they also hate the terror organization because they, too, are victims of the jihadists.
With the Paris terror attacks on Friday nights, Muslims are expecting more dislike, if not hatred for members of their religion since the ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks. But Islam followers point out that the ISIS also took the lives of thousands of Sunni Muslims in Iraq because they refused to pledge loyalty to the caliphate, reports Daily Beast.
Because of the general negative viewpoint of Muslims, seen widely as terrorists, Daily Beast writer Dean Obeidallah admits that when he heard of the Paris attacks, his first thought was: "Please don't let the attackers be Muslims." When the ISIS claimed responsibility, he says a rollercoaster of emotions hit him.
On Friday night, he felt depressed because he felt sad for the victims and the attacks further confirms that Islam, in the minds of many Americans, are terrorists. Obeidallah writes that because of Paris, he expects that if another survey is conducted, more people would believe that ISIS is representative of true Islam. The last survey done a few months ago showed that 27 percent of survey respondents had that outlook.
He fears more discrimination against Muslims in the workplace and Washington spying on all Islam followers in the U.S. as an aftermath of the Paris carnage that killed 127 people. He adds ISIS just succeeded in driving a wedge between Muslims and Americans.
The Paris attack would also make Muslim asylum seekers, especially Syrians, more undesirable in the eyes of immigration officials since one of the Stade de France bombers was found to have a Syrian passport.
Not surprisingly, Republican candidates are now citing the Paris massacre as justification to close the door to Syrian refugees. Alabama Republican Governor Robert Bentley vows to black any attempt to relocate Syrians to his state, while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson says allowing Middle Eastern refugees into the U.S. is a "big mistake," reports Financial Times.
