After Paris, Muslims Around World Say #NotInMyName

Countless Muslims around the world are voicing their disapproval of the ISIS attacks on Paris on Friday, in which at least 129 people were killed, by raising their voices on social media under the banner #NotInMyName.

At the centre of the campaign is a video from September 2014 called “#NotInMyName: ISIS Do Not Represent British Muslims” that has surfaced again and is being shared worldwide.

The video, by UK-based Active Change Foundation that works to combat violence and extremism among youth, came out shortly after the release of a gory video showing the beheading of David Haines, a British aid worker killed by ISIS fighters.

The “#NotInMyName” video was made more than a year ago, but has become the centre of a social media campaign:

Many South African Muslims feel the same way as their British counterparts in the video, with one Muslim SAPeople follower, Zakiyah Ahmed, saying he believes it’s important for people who group all Muslims together with ISIS terrorists to rather “interact with real Muslims who are true followers of Islam” to discover the truth, than troll the internet where you will find propaganda and “hatred” that “divides us as people”.

Four months ago, Active Change released another video called “#MessageToISIS – Enough is Enough”. Both videos highlight the fact that the majority of Muslims believe in non-violence and don’t want to be lumped together with ISIS.

Refugees from Syria and Afghanistan are also seeing their futures in Europe threatened by the Paris attack. A Syrian passport was found near one of the Paris killers – showing that he had been in Greece and Serbia in early October before reaching France – although it has been pointed out by many in the media that the authenticity of the passport has not been verified.

Watch the “Message to ISIS” video by Active Change:

Many people in the media raised the issue that Muslims themselves suffer under ISIS. Beirut, Lebanon, had been hit by ISIS, with more than 40 people being killed, the day before the Paris attack.

Numerous leaders in the Middle East – from Turkey to Qatar to UAE and even Saudi Arabia (often accused of funding ISIS) – have expressed their solidarity with France. So too has the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) in South Africa who reacted with “shock and sadness” and conveyed their “heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the French people, the President Francois Hollande and to all those who lost their loved ones”.

MJC’s President in South Africa, Maulana Ihsaan Hendricks, said: “We condemn these senseless, violent and callous acts of aggression against innocent civilians. Unscrupulous barbaric acts of vengeance has no place in society.  All efforts towards bringing lasting peace and good relations should be pursued in order to ensure that revenge and tit for tat attacks do not become the order of the day.

Some people have even posted selfies holding signs, like this young Palestinian:

Hello World , My name is Mohammed i Am Palestinian and I am Muslim and My heart goes out to the victims of Paris pic.twitter.com/1c6NtpU0pf

— Mohammed E Jber (@MohammedE94) November 15, 2015