Guest Editorial: Stereotypes need to end

Peace be upon you - is there any better greeting than this espoused by Muslims? Is there any religion where faithfuls pray five times a day?

Does any faith commands its disciples to give 10 per cent of their wealth to charity so the poor and downtrodden are able to live life to the fullest.

No sooner did this newspaper ran an article by this author about the Muslim month of fasting, it received a malicious text message by a supposed reader, questioning the logic behind promoting the holy month of "terrorists".

Rather than being more optimistic and showing an interest in a constructive debate, many writers continue to perpetuate misinformation and repeat the same common misconceptions, thus giving a distorted picture of what Islam, followed by more than one billion people worldwide, is about, and what its holy book The Quran actually says.

Islam, Muslims and The Quran have become a subject of major concern after the events of September 11.

A conservative commentator, Glenn Beck, recently made headlines by claiming 10 per cent of all of the world's Muslims are terrorists. An amazing claim, considering that equals 150 million terrorists. The claim is utter insanity.

Nowhere in the five pillars of Islam or teachings is there any mention about terrorism.

The five pillars are: That there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet, praying five times a day, fasting during Ramadhan, performing pilgrimage in Mecca and giving to the poor and needy. Think, more than 1.5 billion people giving to the less fortunate.

Those ridiculing Muslims and Islam the most face the greatest danger from within their own brethren- recent shooting rampages attest to that fact.

They have become so preoccupied with external threats they ignore the "terrorists" in their own backyard. Some say Muslims are fundamentalists.

What is the definition of the word fundamentalist? It is open to wide interpretation.

The dictionary says anyone who understands the basics of a discipline is a fundamentalist. Can you call yourself a mathematician if you can't understand the fundamentals of mathematics?

No fundamentals of Islam are against humanity. How can you be a good Muslim if you do not understand the fundamentals of Islam?

I am proud to call myself a Muslim fundamentalist.

When are we going to get rid of this racial hatred and chronic stereotype of Muslims?