News:

Young Muslims in the UK have taken to social media to protest against the militant group ISIS, saying such extremists do not represent Islam. British charity Active Change Foundation, the London based group which organised the campaign, said #NotInMyName gave Muslims the opportunity to "denounce" the "violent" actions of IS in their own words.

After the killing of journalist David Haines and the kidnapping of British aid worker Alan Hemming, Hanif Qadir, founder of ACF said, "The murder of an innocent man has no justification in any religion or walk of life.

"These terrorists ISIS are not true Muslims, they do not practice the true teachings of Islam; peace, mercy and compassion and they are the enemy of all mankind."

This comes just a week after over 100 British Imams signed a letter in The Independent, dissociating the community in the UK from ISIS and pleading with them for the release of Henning.

Soon enough, the hashtag's satirical counterpart emerged. On Tuesday 23^rd September #MuslimApologies appeared, and quickly gathered pace. It has been used almost 30,000 times in the last 48 hours.

"Sorry for Algebra, cameras, universities, hospitals, oh and coffee too," wrote one. "I'm so sorry for coffee, cheques, parachutes, chemistry, inoculations, soap, shampoo, cameras," said another, and "I'm sorry it was a Muslim woman, Fatima Muhammad Al-Fihri, that established the world's first university," said a third.

Comment:

It is clear, that this campaign, as with many others in the past, is being used to further the vicious circle British Muslims find themselves in, of constantly having to apologize for the actions of others. Furthermore by synonymizing the actions of ISIS with the implementation of the sharia and the term "Khilafah "Caliphate"", the Western media and politicians aim once again to discourage Muslims from practicing essential aspects of their Deen. This demonization continues, causing the Ummah to fear the implementation of Islam on a holistic level, and instead seeks to ally them to the Britain and its values.

The individuals that signed the letter to Islamic State fighters did not only fall into this trap, but also completely ignored the causes of ISIS's actions, ultimately being the invasive Western foreign policy. It is easily forgotten that when Islam was implemented comprehensively, that Muslims and non-Muslims thrived and was a beacon of progress, and it was the historic interference of colonial powers that put a stop to this.

The Muslim community must question why they are expected to condemn terrorism purely on the basis of being adherents of Islam. Most are appalled by the criminality of ISIS, but why are we pressured to publicize our disgust? This is an act of conformity that legitimizes the idea of guilt by association of religion.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Aisha Hasan