As per the teachings of Islam, Ramadan is the month of mercy. Our religion advocates peace and harmony. Ramadan is a month during which a true Muslim becomes more merciful toward Allah’s creation. Unfortunately, a merciless group — claiming to be acting in the name of Islam or should I better say its own skewed interpretation of our religion — did not even think twice before violating the sanctity of this month. It chose to continue with its killing spree during Ramadan as well.

Its leader, a self-proclaimed caliph, is nothing but a psychopath with a myopic worldview and poor understanding of Islam.

The manner in which Daesh brutes are wreaking havoc on the world particularly in the region calls for a renewed and effective strategy to fight this cancerous ideology. It is easy to fight deadly diseases like Ebola or MERS but fighting a dangerous ideology is an uphill task. We need to rethink our strategy regarding the fight against this terror group whose slogan is, “We love death and you love life.” The other day I came across a report quoting a hairdresser who expressed his fears toward the group. Daesh has made certain rules to follow while having hair cut. The hairdresser was quoted as saying, “ (It may be) the customer’s hair but my head (is on the line).”

This is not Islam at all. Unfortunately, our non-Muslim friends around the world generally get to know about Muslims through such reports. They cannot differentiate between true Muslims and these terrorists, hence a rise in Islamophobia in the West.