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Where Are the Marches Against the Islamic State?
(Washington Post) Yasmine Bahrani - This summer, many Muslims marched in the streets of London, Paris and other cities to condemn the deaths of Gazans. But, inexplicably, there have been no similarly large-scale demonstrations against the Islamic State for its horrific acts against Christians, Yazidis and even its fellow Muslims in Iraq and Syria. And there certainly haven't been any marches protesting the beheading of innocents. Why is it so hard to take a stand against the killing of women and children? We need the world to see anti-Islamic State marchers taking to the streets with the passion that we saw at the Gaza rallies in London and Paris. Today, say the word "Islam" and few think of the glories of our history and culture. Rather, they picture masked men with knives. As long as our condemnations remain tepid, we give the impression that we accept the crimes of murderers whose savvy YouTube productions reach far and wide. Groups of people are car-bombing, shooting, starving, kidnapping and beheading people in the name of Islam - not to mention blowing up churches and mosques. Where is the anger? Is it possible that Muslims hate Israel more than we hate criminal gangs who have hijacked the narrative of our religion? The writer is a professor of journalism at American University in Dubai.