Not only Imran, but 99.9% of the Muslims have been saying the same since 9/11. There is nothing unique about his comment and neither is it particularly insightful - it is simply a general statement that has been made a billion times by a billion people. Not sure why people are congratulating him for stating the obvious.
It is understandable that this attack - or any attack on Muslims - is considered as an outcome of the rising Islamophobia in the modern world, and the white supremacists who carry out these attacks are terrorists and should be called out for who they are.
Nevertheless, when it comes to Islamophobia, we need to identify its origins and its cause. This is of course not an attempt to justify it, but is simply an attempt to understand its prominence. Not everything can be justified, but there is always a reason for everything.
It is also important to put ourselves in the shoes of others and look at it from a different perspective. The vast majority of the terrorist organisations conduct these attacks in the name of Islam, and the vast majority of terrorists identify themselves as the true followers of Islam.
As Muslims, we are quick to dismiss that notion and claim that these people have nothing to do with Islam, and are following a version of the faith that cannot be further from the truth, since Islam is not a religion that propagates terrorism and violence.
However, you cannot expect the non-Muslim community to respect these intricacies and exhibit a clear understanding of the distinction between the version of Islam that the Islamic terrorists claim to follow (the minority) and the version of Islam that the majority of peaceful Muslims claim to follow.
When one particular religion or ideology is overwhelmingly prevalent when it comes to terrorism, it is inevitable that people will develop a degree of skepticism and will not have a favourable outlook towards that particular religion.
This is something that people who are quick to play the Islamophobia card need to understand. Yes it is true that the vast majority of Muslims have nothing to do with terrorism, but it is also true that the vast majority of terrorists claim to be Muslims and carry the banners of Islam. In a situation like this, how do you expect Islamophobia to not flourish?
If the followers of some other religion were so predominant when it comes to terrorism, a large portion of the people who now condemn Islamophobia would be making sweeping statements about that particular religion and its followers. In Pakistan, we are witnessing this practically when it comes to India.
Over the last few years, communal violence and religious discrimination have been on the rise in India. As a result, people in Pakistan have not been shy of making sweeping statements about how India has become an extremist country, the people are not tolerant, it is not a safe country for Muslims etc. etc.
They do not show any sensitivity and regard to the fact that the vast majority of Hindus in India are tolerant and peace-loving, and thus it would be a generalisation to put these labels on India based on the actions of a minority of Hindus.
Our views on India these days are no different to the views of the so-called Islamophobes, and thus we are clearly showing traits of Hindu/Indophobia. However, because of our collective biases, we fail to practice what we preach and unfortunately, have lost the ability to recognise our double-standards and hypocrisy as well.
I believe that sweeping everything under the carpet as Islamophobia and playing the "if it is a brown man he is a terrorist, if it is a white man he is mentally deranged" card is not the solution to this problem.
No problem can ever be solved without recognising the problem and understanding the symptoms. Islamophobia and the general stereotyping of Muslims is not the root cause of Islamic terrorism; it is the result of the fact that the vast majority of terrorists and terrorist organisations identify themselves as Muslims.
We Muslims and the Muslim countries also need to look inwards and recognise the elements within the teachings of Islam that when taken out of context, can lead to extremist ideologies. After all, these terrorist organisations frequently quote the teachings of Islam to defend and justify their actions, and how all of this is simply an act of jihad which is the duty of every Muslim.
Not a single terrorist that has identified himself as a Muslim has ever claimed that his actions are not in line with Islamic teachings, and thus, within the teachings of Islam, there is undeniable potential of misinterpretation that have sowed the seeds for terrorism and extremism.
As a result, instead of accusing the world of Islamophobia and giving protection to terrorists and militants for the sake of geopolitics, it is important for Muslim leaders to do more and promote the peaceful version of Islam, not only through awareness but by adopting a zero-tolerance policy. This is the only long-term solution of putting an end to Islamophobia.
It will only flourish as long as we (the Muslims) sit and do nothing apart from condemning it, while the majority of the terror attacks are conducted in the name of Islam. That is what has happened post 9/11 and this what is going to happen in the future if we don't change our ways.
