Of course Turkey will strongly condemn the killing of 12 people by terrorists in an attack on the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo as a country that has been the victim of all kinds of terrorism. Of course the whole world will condemn this barbaric attack as the world has been suffering at the hands of extremists for quite some time. But above all, our beloved Prophet Muhammad would condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo, which poked fun at him, and would categorically reject anyone who killed a human being especially if that person calls him or herself a Muslim.
We are seeing an alarming rise in anti-Muslim sentiments in the West and a serious state of desperation among Muslims, as they face blow after blow and their religion of peace is being portrayed as a faith that promotes violence.
What happened in Paris on Wednesday may well be another one of those blows to the Muslims in Europe and elsewhere and add to their desperation. Western commentators are already drawing parallels between Sept. 11 in the U.S. and the killings in Paris as Europe's 9/11.
There is a systematic campaign to ruin the good name of Islam in the West that has developed from xenophobia to Islamophobia. From innocent looking demonstrations in Germany by the so-called "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West" (PEGIDA) born in Dresden to the destruction and harassment of mosques across Europe there are dangerous signs of a storm on the horizon.
It is true that terrible terrorist groups have emerged in recent times in Somalia, in Nigeria, in Iraq and in Syria that have been using the name of Islam to justify their barbaric acts. They are targeting Muslims as well as people from other faiths unfortunately in the name of Islam, and knowingly or unknowingly those in the West are accepting these as Islamic acts… Hence Islamophobia.
Yet, Islamophobia as well as the alienation of Muslims in European countries are pushing dejected young Muslims into the fold of these terrorist groups. The fact that the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is attracting so many European youngsters who are travelling all across Europe to get to Syria is the product of anti-Muslim actions, sentiments and alienation of Muslims.
So there is a senseless spiral that is triggering anti-Islamic sentiments in the West that in turn is feeding terrorists who perform barbaric acts to further defame Islam.
This is a direct and serious threat to world peace that has to be taken up by the world powers in a realistic and pragmatic manner. Turkey should play a role in this as a country that promotes the real authentic and good face of Islam. An action plan is needed to curb Islamophobia and also help 30 million Muslims feel at home in Europe. But Muslims also have to put their house in order by seriously changing their educational systems to raise their children with the accurate teachings of Islam instead of myths and so-called teachings of ignorant persons.
It is also no good telling Turkey "why are you allowing our young people (European youths) to join the ranks of ISIS by letting them through your territory" because it is a fact that it is first the primary duty of the European states to monitor and prevent these people leaving their lands to travel to Turkey. It is a fact that these youths are generally monitored by the intelligence agencies where they originate and that Turkey is not properly informed about their movements. They should share information with Turkey promptly. Yet this is not done.
Drawing parallels to 9/11, accusing Islam will not solve the problems that are mushrooming into a major crisis for Europe.
