#NotInMyName: Muslims condemn IS through Twitter campaign

Muslims around the world are using the hashtags #NotInMyName and #MessageToISIS to condemn terrorism and reaffirm what Islam stands for.

A still from the Active Change Foundation's #NotInMyName campaign.

A still from the Active Change Foundation's #NotInMyName campaign. Source: YouTube

Muslims around the world have turned to Twitter to campaign against ISIS and recent acts of violence the group has claimed responsibility for.

The hashtags #MessageToISIS and #NotInMyName have been used widely since ISIS claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in Beirut and Paris.

The Active Change Foundation is promoting both hashtag campaigns to encourage young Muslims to add "their voices to the fight-back against ISIS", the foundation's website says.

"Islam teaches peace, respect and love. ISIS is hiding behind a false Islam. It’s nothing to do with what we stand for. Tell ISIS that they can’t murder in your name," the website says.
The British foundation says the #MessageToISIS campaign is a "direct message to ISIS that everything they stand for is wrong, and that trying to wear us down or scare us will only make us stronger".
Twitter users have picked up on the campaigns, using them to send their own messages against the attacks.
Muslim feminist Philistine Ayad told CNN she hoped the #NotInMyName campaign would help to remove Islamophia from Western societies.

"I want there to be an understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims and a sense of communal sympathy for the victims of terrorists, but not descending into Islamophobia," she told CNN.

"If the #NotInMyName campaign can help expel some of that Islamophobia and expel some of my fear ... then that would be wonderful."

Ayad has also used art to demonstrate the burden terrorist acts placed on innocent Muslims.

"#NotInMyName means that we are taking that power back, to represent ourselves to what we truly are and that is peaceful people," she told CNN.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: SBS News


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world