Islam is in need of urgent reform

IN RESPONSE to “Fighting Islamophobia through art” (Weekend Argus, June 17), we are a German-SA couple and are shocked by this facttwisting and partly cynical article.

With all the Islamist terrorist attacks throughout the world, what did the Muslim artists actually expect when they stayed in Europe?

We find it outrageous to complain about hatred, Islamophobia and human rights violations while we have Muslim hate preachers in European mosques, the assassination of Christians in Egypt and honour killings in Germany – and we’re not even talking about terrorists yet. Also, we are tired of hearing that Islamist terrorists are not Islamic – the sheer number of Muslim extremist groups who keep committing the most severe crimes against humanity worldwide on a daily basis is mind-boggling: Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Taliban, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and so on.

You make it much too easy when you say they are not Islamic. It seems to serve as an excuse for rejecting responsibility and refusing to start doing something about it.

Who are they if they are not Islamic? They call themselves Muslims, they quote the Qur’an, and they shout “Allahu-akbar” when committing their attacks. They are your people and are members of your religious community.

Instead of trying to turn the tables and presenting yourselves as victims, you should come to the awareness that Islam urgently needs some serious reforming and catching up with a globalising world of the 21st century.