As a result of the Paris attacks and other recent events regarding ISIS dominating the news, misconceptions about Islamic beliefs and connections to terrorism have been heightened. To clarify common misconceptions and stereotypes, the Diamond Bar High School Muslim Student Association held an open discussion for students called “Ask a Muslim” on Nov. 19.

Guest Muslim speakers Furhan Zubairi, the Imam at a local mosque, and Thomas Alameddine, a teacher and debate coach at Institute of Knowledge, invited students to ask questions regarding Muslim beliefs and terrorism, without fear of offending anyone.

“All of us are aware of the events that happened this week, and we categorically condemn the outrageous acts that took place. It has no place in civil society and it has no place in humanity, and we condemn them in the strongest terms, just as we condemn the many injustices and any crimes done to any human being throughout the world,” Zubairi said at the event.

Zubairi said that many terroristic acts are not linked to Islam; they were caused by disenfranchised youth, acting out of personal angst and using slanted views of the Quran as justification for their actions. The speakers emphasized that Muslims strongly oppose the actions of extremists and that they believe taking the life of one person is considered a crime to humanity. The terrorist attacks are designed to create a division between extremists and Muslims, leaving no gray region between them, and they strive to place wedges between Muslim populations and the Western world.

“The real danger we face in these kinds of attacks is spreading the world into these two camps. You’re either with us or with the terrorists, black and white,” Alameddine said.

Alameddine and Zubairi also touched on the Syrian refugee crisis, addressing the ignorance that many people have shown regarding the refugees conditions. Zubairi said that many people demonize these refugees, but do not recognize that they are victims and that they are the ones in danger rather than the citizens of the countries they are fleeing to. All the information released about the terrorist attacks has no link to the refugees, as they, according to news reports, were brought up in Europe and grew up nonreligious, never having been part of the Islamic community.

The Quran contains statements that Islamophobes misinterpret and use against Muslims; many of these views have been used by terrorists to justify their actions. However, a common misunderstanding that many hold is that the entire Islamic community shares the same interpretation.

“Once we get to know one another and once we get to see different stories, different people, is when that gray area expands, and you realize that not everybody is your stereotype,” Alameddine said.

The vast majority of scholars at Islamic universities have expressed that they do not condone terrorist acts, that these acts are not based on sound interpretations of the Islamic law, and that the extremists’ cherry-picked verses are not an accurate representation of Islam.

“Brotherhood is a two way street; peace is a two way street. You have to stand up for justice, and that’s a prophetic tradition that anybody can get behind. As a Muslim, I can stand behind that, as a Christian you can stand behind that. As a Jewish person, as an atheist, you can stand behind that tradition,” Alameddine said.