Twice struck, once by terror, then by wrong perception, Muslims hit back with rally

8216;Terrorists, you have failed again, we are more united than ever!8217; This was the message conveyed by thousands of members of the Muslim community 8212; from religious leaders to liberals, socialites, celebrities...

8216;Terrorists, you have failed again, we are more united than ever!8217; This was the message conveyed by thousands of members of the Muslim community 8212; from religious leaders to liberals, socialites, celebrities, social activists and the average citizens 8212; who embarked upon a silent rally on Sunday. 8220;We are twice struck,8221; they said, 8220;once by the terrorism itself that has paralysed the city and then by the ensuing overall perception that Muslims are the perpetrators of the crime. But this is our only home like everybody else.8221;

Holding strongly-worded placards condemning the recent terrorist attacks in South Mumbai, the march began at the CST station and ended near Hotel Oberoi. The placards read: 8220;Killers of innocents are enemies of Islam8221;, 8220;Islam denounces terrorists8221;, 8220;Do not spread terrorism in the land8221;, and so on.

8220;The slant given by the terrorists to terms like 8216;Jihad8217; are totally out of context. This has to be corrected,8221; said Haider Ghulam Haider, a city-based carpenter who was an active part of the rally. 8220;The sentiment expressed by nearly 2,000 people who have taken to the streets today is clear, we don8217;t want to be blamed for what has happened. We are as much the innocent residents of this city as anybody else who was killed.8221;

Of the 172 people killed in the city, 30 per cent were Muslims, according to Javed Anand, the general secretary of Muslims for Secular Democracy and the brain behind the rally. He said, 8220;Fanatics with grave Muslim-sounding names are causing destruction time and again. They quote from the holy books. They talk of freedom. We want to tell them 8216;Do not kill in our name. You are Islam8217;s enemies8217;.8221;

Pointing out that the recent terror attacks were more brutal than anything that ever occurred before, actor Farookh Shaikh reflected. 8220;No wonder, I haven8217;t seen such anger and sorrow in the faces of people before either.8221;

He added, 8220;I am twice as angry as the average Mumbaiite. The terrorists have not just killed me but also exposed me to ignominy. An entire community can8217;t take flak because of the doings of a handful of fanatics.8221; He said the rally was their way of standing up and speaking out to clear their image.

A religious leader from the Shia sect, Maulana Aga Nasari quoted from the Quran. 8220;Shower favours unto others like Allah showered favours on you,8221; he said. 8220;Quran has never supported terrorism. In fact, it sees human beings as the creation of Allah8217;s benevolence and asks us to shower similar compassion on others.8221;