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There Is Hope: #StopIslam Started Trending On Twitter, But People Shut It Down

by John Haltiwanger

In the wake of the terror attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, a disgusting trend emerged on Twitter: #StopIslam.

This is hardly surprising, it's fairly standard for people to blame Islam for terrorism these days. But that doesn't make it any less wrong.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims around the world. The vast majority are peaceful people who simply want to live safe and happy lives, the same as the rest of us.

Those who seek to blame all Muslims for terrorism should also stop and think about who the primary victims of jihadism are: MUSLIMS.

Moreover, jihadism and terrorism are NOT synonymous. Case in point: More Americans have died on US soil due to right-wing extremism than jihadism post-9/11.

Muslims find groups like ISIS abhorrent, probably even more so than Americans do, because they face the brunt of its violent wrath. Not to mention, acts of terror are at odds with the fundamental tenets of Islam.

Kaitlyn Cawley

Instead of sharing the ignorant messages of those who contributed to the #StopIslam trend in a hateful way, we thought it would be better to highlight those who decided to take a stand against this bigotry. Here's how common sense, love and solidarity shut down #StopIslam on Twitter.

There is hope for humanity after all.