THE wave of Islamophobia has seen a dramatic rise across the world, particularly in the West. The misperception about Islam is one of the major reasons behind Islamophobia.

The West wrongly assumes that it is Muslims who are carrying out deadly attacks and killing human beings. Islam says that killing a single person is equal to the massacre of entire mankind.

Additionally, some countries believe Muslims are intolerant towards other religions and that is why they disdain others. According to the Gallup 2019 survey, 87 per cent of those questioned in the West think that Muslims around the world are not tolerating people of other religions. This figure reveals the misperceptions in the West about Islam. This is a fallacy of generalisation because a few rotten eggs cannot account for the entire lot.

In his speech in 2012, the former US President Barak Obama said: future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.

These thought provoking words show that those who accuse Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are misguided.

I suggest that UN should play its role in clearing such misperceptions. There is a need for interfaith harmony, while the West should avoid propaganda against Islam. Most importantly, the Muslim Ummah should wake up from its deep slumber to defend Islam.

M. Arslan Rajpar

Lahore

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2019