Muslims march against terrorism

From the BBC:

Members of Scottish Muslim groups and mosques are to gather in Glasgow later for a rally against terrorism.

I think this is a important for two reasons. Firstly it sends a message to the terrorists that they do not have the support of the mainstream Muslim community. I doubt this will make a difference at all to the real hard-liners (they don’t consider the mainstream Muslim community to be Muslim anyway,) but if it widens the gap between the mainstream and the extreme, then it will, hopefully, make it a little less likely that people cross that gap. Any measure that prevents even one person being convinced that the best way to express their faith is to blow themselves up in a crowded street is worth pursuing in my book.

The second reason this matters, is that it underscores, in the wider public’s mind, that there’s a difference between “Muslim” and “terrorist”. It’s shocking that Muslim communities should have to make that distinction to the rest of us, and I think the reason it’s taken so long for something like this to happen probably has a lot to do with moderate Muslims assuming that it’s a given that they don’t support (and are not) the extremists. Unfortunately, many people see the continuing silence (barring the odd statement by members of the Muslim Council of Great Britain) of the wider Muslim community as tacit approval of terrorist activities. It’s true that the rest of us don’t have to march and demonstrate to show our disapproval (although maybe we should; it never hurts to make sure everyone knows how you feel,) and it’s equally true that the entire Muslim community should not have to feel responsible for a few loonies who happen to share their religion. But the point is that as long as those loonies are shouting loudly that that religion demands they kill themselves and the rest of us in the name of Allah, then the moderate community has a responsibility to tell us (and the loonies) in just as uncertain terms that is demands no such thing. If people don’t hear the opposing view, is is surprising that after a while, they start to believe what the extremists are telling them? And that’s exactly what this march is; it’s the larger Muslim community of Scotland standing up and saying “No. That’s enough. This violence is wrong, it’s anti-Islamic, we won’t condone it, and it has to stop. Now.” Make no mistake, this will drive a wedge between the moderate and extreme Muslim communities, but that’s important too; by being seen to distance themselves from the fringe, the mainstream will be perceived as closer to the rest of us (which is where they’ve always been,) and that sort of coming-together, that sort of unity in the face of adversity, is exactly what this country needs. For everyone’s good.