M Zuhdi Jasser

As we all began digesting the news of last week’s terrorist attack, most of America’s Muslim organisations issued what has become a predictable, yet empty, round of condemnations. Articulated in press releases, these rote statements are not backed up with sincere attempts to acknowledge and fix the problems within Islam. Listening to these empty pronouncements, I can’t help but ask: Where is our Muslim responsibility — our duty — to protect the world from the actions of our own?

It is time for us Muslims to take ownership of our faith by moving beyond empty condemnations and ensuring that Islamo-fascists — those who seek to create an Islamic totalitarian theocracy through the use of any and all means — have no place in our world. These fascists are Muslims who have hijacked and twisted our faith. They subscribe to a medieval code where the ends justify the means. And you can hear their rhetoric not only in the Middle East; radical imams preach in London and in many cities in the US. Cutting off this lifeblood and its ideology should be the focus of our collective Muslim response.

Many well-meaning Muslims react to news about Muslim terrorists by insisting that anyone who commits violent acts is, by definition, not part of Islam. But who are we fooling? The Islamo-fascists did not come out of thin air. They use our scripture, our prayers, our language, and our tradition — and they come from somewhere within our community. — Beliefnet.com