Fareed Zakaria of CNN said it best when he stated:

“And let’s be honest, there is a cancer of extremism in the Arab world.”

There is a cancer. In fact, it is worse than a cancer. There are so-called Muslims which advocate and carry out despicable violence. Mind you, despicable is an understatement to describe their belief system. I wholeheartedly and unequivocally condemn this senseless terrorism and love this country which has given my family, who are immigrants, so much freedom, opportunity, and happiness.

Pointing to the Qur’an,

“If you have taken one life, it is as if you have killed all of humanity and if you save one life, it is as if you have saved all of humanity.” (Verse 5:32)

There are people that take to the streets violently when the Prophet Mohammed is insulted. This occurs in developing nations, and I use the word developing as I believe the word “Third Word countries” is derogatory. Countries should not be, in my humble opinion, be classified into categories, based on their GDP. We are all people. These people, and I feel terribly sorry for them, are severely misguided. It is a fact, that when the Prophet Mohammed roamed the streets of Arabia, people would shout all types of insults at him. But, like most wise men, he smiled, because he knew that combating them would only lead to more violence. He embraced what later became Gandhi’s mantra, “An eye for an eye leaves the entire world blind.”

Some people acknowledge that there are good Muslims in the world, but hide behind the saying “All Muslims are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.”

This is where I have a problem and I wish to humbly enlighten these individuals.

88% of the domestic terror plots on our own soil here in the United States, have been by right~wing anarchists, according to an analysis by The Center for American Progress.

There are at least 14 well known terrorist organizations in our own country. Organizations such as Army of God, Aryan Nations, Black Liberation Army, The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord, Jewish Defense League and others.

There have been terrorist attacks such as the Oklahoma City Bombing, Unabomber attacks, and attacks by the Jewish Defense League whose members carried out over 15 attacks. In it’s FBI report (2000/2001), the FBI referred to the Jewish Defense League as a “violent extremist Jewish organization.”

Most recently, in August, Wade Michael Page took 6 innocent lives at a Sikh temple, as it is believed he was full of hate for Muslims.

This is testament to the fact that terrorists come from all walks of life, all colors, and of all religions. There are terrorists, as you read this, plotting crimes against humanity in Africa, South Asia, South America, and the world over.

The question is bourne, “Why does the mainstream print, radio, television and online media” give a disproportionate amount of attention to Muslims who commit acts of terror?”

Muslim~Americans come out and denounce terrorism every chance they get, but you never hear about it. It isn’t “newsworthy.” If there is so much emphasis and coverage by the media on “Muslims wanting to attack Americans” why is there zero to nil coverage on those American Muslims, who factually represent the sentiments of the majority of the Muslim world, and that is the sentiment of condemning terrorism unequivocally.

Most recently, a large group of Muslim leaders came out to condemn the attacks in Boston. I encourage you to take a moment and read this brief article.

It is my deepest desire that xenophobia, fear of people who are different, and Islamophobia being a by~product of that, subside. Hate accomplishes nothing. Choose tolerance and acceptance. Those are the principles our truly beautiful country’s founding was supposed to be based on.

~Ali Naqvi

Also On Global Grind: