LONDON
British Muslims have taken to the Internet to denounce the violent actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, many using the hashtag “not in my name” -- an echo of Jewish groups denunciation of Israel's war on Gaza.
Users such as Sayed Umaar tweeted Thursday: "Another disgusting threat from the un-Islamic State #NotInMyName. We all call for Alan Henning's [a British man held hostage by ISIL's] prompt release."
Many tweeted pictures of themselves with the "not in my name" placard and tag.
A user named Akhtar tweeted a picture of a group of Muslims holding a banner that reads "Muslims against ISIS," stating, "We Muslims condemn ISIS's [ISIL's] horrible actions. These terrorist doesn't represent our religion. #NotInMyName"
In a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama singled out praise for the campaign, which Muslims have replicated in other parts of the world.
The campaign’s founder Hanif Qadir told the Huffington Post U.K. that "Young British Muslims are sick and tired of the hate-filled propaganda the terrorists ISIS and their supporters churn out on social media."
"They are angry that the criminals are using the platforms to radicalize young people and spread their poisonous words of violence in the name of Islam," he added.
The campaign, however, has not come without criticism. On being quizzed on Twitter about funding, Qadir said that he had received donations from the British government -- an answer that prompted the reply "any chance u condemn extremism of the West foreign policy?" from fellow tweeter Ryad Ally.
The cynicism follows another hashtag trending Wednesday that sought to challenge Islamophobia that tweeters claim has been on the rise since ISIL rose to prominence -- "Muslim apologies" mocks alleged stereotypes of Muslims, and questions why they should have to apologize for ISIL.
One user tweeted "I'm sorry the founder of the world's oldest university was a Muslim women in 859 (Fez, Morocco):Fatima al-Fihri #Muslimapologies." Another: "I'm so sorry for coffee, cheques, parachutes, chemistry, inoculations, soap, shampoo, cameras, etc #Muslimapologies."
Salman Haider mocked: "We're sorry for traffic jams, when toast lands buttered side down, economic crisis & England being unable to take penalties #MuslimApologies"
www.aa.com.tr/en
