We wished the international community had created an equal uproar when we lost one of our own. Because wasn’t an attack on one journalist equivalent to an attack on journalists everywhere? Wasn’t killing even one person in cold blood synonymous to murdering humanity everywhere? But we had asked these questions for too long and too many times. When our men and women were blown to smithereens in crowded markets. When our children were slaughtered in cold blood in schools. When an attack on Muslims was brushed aside as a ‘consequence’ while an attack on anyone else became a call to action. When we are blamed for a war that has robbed us of the most…..

As world leaders gathered at the French capital to march in solidarity with France following a brutal attack on its citizens by terrorists, something far more atrocious and horrifying in scale and severity unfolded in north-east Nigeria. Boko Haram militants massacred over 2000 persons, mainly women, children and elderly people. While in France, the militants attacked to avenge the publication of the cartoon of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), in Nigeria, Boko Haram militants have a different agenda: to implement Sharia law and turn the country into an Islamic state. For the latter, the motive is much stronger and hence, much more vicious…..

Some of the predictable attacks on the obvious symbols and institutions have already occurred in France, and more are likely to follow. Most French politicians have been at pains to point out, though, that most Muslims in their country have little to do with the violent tendencies of Jihadism. By the same token, most French citizens are disinclined to opt for violence in retaliation….

Allah, I was taught, wants us to do good deeds and, therefore, all my endeavours, from prayers to playing, must always begin with Bismillah. Next I learnt that Allah is not just Rabbul Muslimeen (sustainer of Muslims) but Rabbul Alameen (sustainer of the entire universe). And that He had sent Prophet Muhammad to this world as a Rehmat ul lil Alameen (mercy upon all mankind). How then can the god of the merciless killers be my god, their prophet my prophet? Yet I am sorry and ashamed and I seek your forgiveness…..

In a march that was supposed to denounce the "enemies of freedom" there was a man whose country has been suffocating journalists at home and jailing them for criticizing his government. Ahmet Davutoğlu, an academic-turned-politician, linked arms with other leaders to condemn the Charlie Hebdo attackers. Reporters Without Border (RSF) has already condemned the participation of Davutoğlu, as well as other officials from countries such as Egypt and the UAE….

Muslims do not have any issues with bigotry, violence and gender inequality. Massacre machines such as al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Taliban and Boko Haram do not belong to Muslims. They are all “provocations” of the West, the U.S., and Zionism…  “Some people” are using Muslims for a “perception operation” to create hostility against Islam. Do you want proof? Well look, Islamophobia is spreading!....

Contrary to popular belief, radical Islamist terrorists are not motivated by the promise of rewards in the afterlife or even by religious ideals. They are best understood as “rational altruists seeking to help their own communities.” When looked through this lens, you immediately notice that terrorist organizations have millions of potential recruits – young altruists who feel that their communities are repressed or endangered. Then, you begin to wonder not why there are so many terrorist organizations associated with radical Islam, but why there are so few. In fact, less than a dozen such organizations are active today. …

But where Christianity itself evolved and modernised, within the citadel of Islam emerged a powerful school led by Muhammad Abdl ibn al-Wahhab, born in 1703, who wanted to return Islam to its original “pure” form, and for whom ‘Bida’ or religious innovation was as big an enemy as shirk or polytheism. Modern Islamism and the direct challenge to western modernism has come from Egypt and the writings of Hassan al Banna and Sayyid Qutub. Their progeny exist in the subcontinent as the Jamaat-e-Islami…..

These crimes are motivated not by religious faith, but by greed, lust and hatred. Their perpetrators are criminal thugs. Like bullies in a school playground, they resort to violence because they think it will gain them the respect, which they cannot command through merit. And, also like child bullies, they pick on those who are weak and defenceless. They have targeted people of all faiths and ethnic groups: Muslims, Christians, Yezidis, Arabs and Kurds. The majority of their victims are Muslim. They are not warriors for Islam, but hooligans against humanity…..

In the “modern Muslim mind,” evil has turned out to be the “outside” forces that can be referred to for the wrongs of Muslims. In this mindset, it is Western imperialism, historical injustices, Muslims’ enemies, and finally Islamophobia, that lead Muslims to turn hostile, revengeful and even violent. As Islamophobia has become the “new anti-Semitism,” Muslims resemble the apologists of Israel’s terrible politics, who define any criticism as “anti-Semitic.”….

One cannot attempt to comprehend the actions of mass murderer Anders Breivik or the recent report on the US government's torture of Muslim prisoners solely against the backdrop of western liberal ideals. However, when one considers the rise of a pervasive Islamophobic atmosphere as seen in prominent discourses across the US and Europe, one can understand the reason such violence becomes possible and, indeed, normalised…..

Nearly all Muslim associations are strongly condemning the massacre. On Jan. 9, the number of people participating in Friday prayers in Paris mosques doubled. The president of the Council of French Muslims called on all Muslims to participate in the Republican rally, and indeed many Muslims attended. However, Muslims in France certainly believe that their lives will become more difficult from now on…..

In a marvellous message, Gandhi urged that the Gita should be read with the eye of a Hindu and the Quran with the eye of a Muslim: with sympathy, not invective. Swami Vivekananda, who sought India’s resurgence through India’s unique philosophy, was equally forth-right: if you were born a Hindu, he said, be a good Hindu; if born a Muslim, be a good Muslim, and that would make both good Indians…..

LeT’s younger ideologues believe that Pakistan is destined to lead the global jihad and JuD would not be averse to having an Islamic caliphate in South Asia. Though, at present, the Army leadership appears sanguine about controlling the LeT, given the JuD’s ability to systematically and diabolically pursue its plans, this may inevitably bring it into confrontation with the Pakistan Army in the days ahead…..

The threats by terrorist groups against Arab countries are actually home-grown. The threat of radicalism among us is real and it provides rich soil for extremism to grow. It attracts youths and ensures the collection of funds. Radicals and terrorists perceive the religious society as an ally not a rival. This is because they adopt the same rhetoric and they just come up with excuses when they disagree. The problem of ISIS is domestic; it’s not imported from Iraq or Syria or Yemen. This is what we discovered in 2003 when terrorism shook most Saudi cities. We couldn’t eliminate it until we admitted that the al-Qaeda rhetoric was present in Saudi society and until we stopped blaming others for it….

When I talk to pious Muslims about the barbaric acts of jihadist Muslims in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere, I always get the same reaction: They say that what these barbarians are doing has nothing to do with Islam, or that these acts are just a kind of conspiracy; namely, that there are dark forces using these jihadists for shadow boxing. Here we come to the core of the problem: These Muslims, who themselves maybe would not hurt a fly, do not want to see these jihadists acting on certain interpretations of holy texts and Islamic sources….

Indeed, America’s war has not just inflamed and turned the whole of the Muslim world, including Pakistan, upside down and created monsters like Isis, the west itself is now beginning to feel the heat of the ‘far war’, the latest example being the attack on an Islamophobic Paris rag. Is Pakistan looking to go down that road? Has it drawn no lessons from the war next door? Don’t get me wrong. I am all for fighting extremism. Whatever its causes and whoever sowed the seeds of strife, terrorism has emerged as an existential threat to Pakistan and the Muslim world. Indeed, Muslims have been its chief victims. Extremism needs to be dealt with firmly and effectively.....

The massacres in Peshawar and Paris, and the daily bombings in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq must provide the impetus for a tolerant and forgiving Islam to emerge in Muslim societies, where the majority needs to shun its justifications or silence, and loudly refuse to tolerate killing in the name of Islam…..

It is this Quranic verse cultural critic Ziauddin Sardar cites in his book, Reading the Quran, to say, “If there is no compulsion in religion then all opinions can be expressed freely, including those which cause offence to religious people. The believers will show respect and use respectful language towards God and His Prophet simply because they are believers. Non-believers, by definition, take a rejectionist attitude to both.”….

However, the memorial was attacked by Mumtaz Qadri’s supporters, who reportedly belonged to a banned terror outfit. The scene was as tragic as it was violent. Placards such as “ST Hum Sharminda Hain, Tumhara Qaatil Zinda Hai” were set ablaze as baton-wielding villains pounded participants, including campaigners of renown. ….

And by comforting her did he uphold the core Islamic principles of clemency and compassion? Yes he did. Then what was his crime? Everyone knows Salmaan Taseer did not commit blasphemy in regards to the Prophet (PBUH) and always expressed his indebtedness to the Apostle of God. However, he did blaspheme when he raised his voice against the priests who abuse the law. He did blaspheme when he stood up for the weak and he did blaspheme when he defended hapless minorities. That was his real crime and in Pakistan everyone gets punished for it…..