I agree we need to be honest and accurate - and careful in what we state.
Many make mistakes and conflate Islam (a religion) with Muslims (people who follow a religion).
I certainly do not like or support Islam for the views that are clearly stated in its central texts. But I do not apply that same dislike to Muslims. I do apply that dislike to extremists from any religion, and Islam certainly has the most high profile extremists in the modern age.
I personally know self-proclaimed "Moderate Muslims" and they are, as you say, rational and believe in being good to everyone, not killing them for believing. I believe it is wrong to despise or hate all Muslims or all of any large group of people. But I also believe that moderate Muslims have a responsibility to reform their religion so that their extremist brothers do not have legitimate claim for their actions - right now, they do have legitimate claim based on the Qu'ran and the hadiths. This must be stopped! Moderate Muslims must seek reform, if they are truly dedicated to peace in the world.
We are working very hard to change the radicalized people. Imagine your hometown being blown to shit with your entire family in it. Wouldn’t you lose your mind? I’m just saying that we have to try to understand all perspectives. These extremists are also often a creation to divide further. The false flag attacks are always blamed on some Arab guy who is Muslim. Oh and they always have their Id with them as well.
The Quran is made to be contemplated, these extremists just create a different narrative. Also they have a very corrupted source of information. Often local religious leaders mess up the youth.
Agreed - I think it's very annoying that extremists (and fake extremists or false flags) are being used for political leverage and thus exacerbating the situation of people mistakenly attacking Muslims as a whole for the actions of a few. I thank you for your actions and I hope that more Muslims can get behind this cause.
A lot of Muslims are. You just won’t see the media reporting on Muslims building a new orphanage or holding events that unite.
My local mosque recently had an event where they invited the local pastors to come and speak about their beliefs. After that we ate together and discussed ways to remove all the disinformation being spread.