When will people realize that all Muslims aren't terrorists?

I'm getting so frustrated over the ignorance featured on this site. What is wrong with people thinking that a billion people are out to kill other people? Why do people hate people that will never harm them? Why don't people realize that Islam condemns killings?


I know what people's answers will be. Why do Muslims kill innocent people? Why do Muslims do this or that.


**News Flash**


Those Muslims that kill others are going to hell. They are stupid people who are twisting Islam. Don't believe that all Muslims are out to get you. Realize that are crazy people out there that say that Allah tells them to kill, but also realize that they are misguided fools, because that is not true.. Remember, religion has not failed us, but humans have failed religion.

When will people realize that all Muslims aren't terrorists?
I also agree that Muslims with the exception of extremists are peaceful people. There are good and bad people in every religion, however "Muslim" extremists seem to take their extreme- ism to a much more prolific level. This is why people feel more compelled to generalize Muslims as terrorists.





The only way to overcome this is for Muslims to reach out to non-Muslims, and for non-Muslims to learn more about how the vast majority of Muslims live their lives. For example, my university has put up posters sponsored by the Muslim Students Association. They are open invitations for non-Muslims to attend a special "open-mosque" locally, in which non-Muslims are welcome to come and ask questions. It is NOT to convert people, just to give them an opportunity to lose their ignorance. Very cool.





Unfortunately, I do not see the attitude against Muslims changing anytime soon. It may improve, but our generation has been too scared by the small number of people who call themselves Muslims but really are murderers. Perhaps the next generation will not feel this way, once Sept. 11th has become a page in a history book, much how most people now are not suspicious of Germans anymore (i.e. as they may have been just post WW2).





To be honest, most of the stupid comments on here are due to people who are either uneducated or still in high school. I wouldn't pay much attention. People who like to waste their entire days on this earth picking apart religions they don't even follow apparently don't have much else going for them.
Reply:I'll tell you exactly why!! Because for a lot of American's- the only reference they have for Islam is 9/11 %26amp;/or the war in Iraq. The media is very one sided(as a soldier I know this better than most), they only report what will get attention.





As such; The only time the majority of american's even hear about Islam is on the evening news. Some story about fanatical Islamists bombing another market place. Much like the only time soldiers are in the news is when they die or get caught doing something stupid.
Reply:well,all terrorists,appear to be muslims
Reply:News flash: Everyone knows that not all Muslims are terrorists.
Reply:i am glad you are speaking out against the extremist Muslims. i just wish more would be like you.
Reply:You make some valid observations.





To me the most vital thing Islam needs is some centralized authority speaking out against the acts of the radicals. Unfortunately, Islam is very non-hierarchical, so there is no central group of perceived leaders of the islamic faith that speak with one voice and condemn the actions of the heretical.





Where is the public outcry from Islam's theologians over the acts of these radicals? It is missing in the media and the silence among the leadership is deafening to the observers on the sidelines.





If Christian radicals were performing the acts that we see Islamic fundamentalists doing, there would be a world outcry among the leaders of Christian organizations condemning these persons as heretics. It would be in all the newspapers, television, etc.





I believe Islam is going through what the Christian faith went through during the Reformation. During the Reformation religious leaders were forced to carefully define their doctrines, that is, what do Christians really believe? This established a baseline of orthodoxy that then could be used as a litmus test for the practices of self-professed Christians. Islamic leaders must do the same thing. Codify their acceptable beliefs and then defend them against heretics loudly and publicly.
Reply:Most educated people already know this. The ignorant people of all religions are responsible for death and destruction, not just the ignorant extremists of Islam. It's funny when people say that most terrorists are Muslims without ever wondering why. Flying into a building and killing thousands of innocent people is terror, but so is what the super powers have done to these countires for centuries. But only people who are informed would know that. To anyone who wants to know why people would ever want to blow themselves up, I recommend a book written by a US president who's been there and has been involved in the attemts at peace and has finally, in his old age, decided to tell all. Now that the political reprecusions aren't going to hurt his career, he's speaking the truth:


It's called "Palestine, peace not apartheid" and it's by Jimmy Carter. Information is a good thing... It promotes peace. Ignorance is dangerous because it promotes violence.
Reply:Frankly, I am well aware that some 20% of currently alive humans are muslim and not all are blowing themselves and others up.





Just as there are a lot of christians out there who are not ignorant gayhating bigots.
Reply:I understand that. The thing is, the terrorist Muslims are much louder than the peaceful ones.
Reply:You can bury your head in the sand all you want. A large part of your fellow Muslims are terrorists.
Reply:I know that "all muslims are not terrorists"... that's because some are still just apprentices. It takes a while for the virus to develop into the full blown disease.


I'll change my mind about muslims the day when they edit the Quran and take out the passages that are clearly telling muslims to kill the infidels, and the passages where people that won't convert to Islam, are automatically condemned to dhimmitude.


Yeah, I might be wrong on some things but I'm not totally stupid.
Reply:Then get mainstream Islam out there denouncing Muslim terrorists.
Reply:I'll stop grouping all muslims as terrorists when all muslims rise up and eliminate the terrorists within.





Religion, all religion, is extremely dangerous. It used to be ok, I suppose, to accept Pascal's Wager and profess a belief in some non-existent being "just in case". But, largely thanks to Islam, more and more people are finally recognizing just how dangerous religion really is. Want peace? Eliminate religion. There are no gods, and the sooner we all accept this, the better off we will all be.
Reply:I realize that not all Muslims are terrorists. There are many Muslims who are against terrorism. The problem is that people feel that Muslims like yourself should make a stand against those who are terrorists. I personally know some very nice Muslims and they don't try to convert me to Islam at all. I guess some people choose to willfully stay ignorant towards certain facts. There are bad apples in every group and unfortunately some people tend to judge a whole group of people based on the actions of a few. Unfortunately the bad apples in your group ruins it for your whole group. That can be blamed on the Fundamentalist, extremist,radical, fanatics in Islam.
Reply:wasnt this asked yesterday? everyone knows this so get ober it already
Reply:The problem with Islam's public image is two fold. Of course it has a complete lack of understanding by most in the West, it has gone from the romanticism of Aladin to the treachery of terrorism. With a tumultuous Middle East raging with war, we are going to see negative imagery plastered across the news. Sensationalism sells. That is a fact of life.





However we as Muslims must stand up and take hold of this problem. We can not expect others to resolve the problem for us. Each Muslim should confront the issue, spread dawah, teach others what Islam is and is not. You will be surprised by the reactions of people in real life (the net is completely different). We must educate others, stop fighting ourselves and unite.





Until we as an Ummah can unite, and come together, ending sectarian violence, and hatred of our own brothers, can we honestly expect others to take us seriously? Let us Muslims one and all show not with words, but with actions what Islam really is.
Reply:A few rotten apples spoil the whole bunch. It's sad, but true. It aggravates me, too. But I see why people think the way they do. All you see on the news is people in robes and turbins killing each other. After a while, you develop a stigma.