Unite to fight the terrorist group calling itself Islamic State

The ongoing madness, and savage atrocities committed by the terrorist group calling itself Islamic State will be stopped and defeated by concentrated efforts on many fronts.

These outlaws and thugs are spreading death and mayhem in complete opposition to basic Islamic principals and teachings. They aim to divide and conquer across religious, ethnic, sectarian and political differences. They use the name of a noble religion embraced by 1.5 billion people to carry out heinous crimes.

They are a barbaric killing machine across the Middle East. The killings of three Americans, the murders in Paris, Denmark and attempts in Belgium are all signs of their global outreach. The vile video of the beheadings of 21 impoverished Egyptian Christians looking for work in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte is their latest monstrosity.

Those who continue to malign Islam and Muslims are directly helping these murderous groups recruit fighters and are adding more fuel to their barbarism against innocents.

Daesh/QSIS and its offspring will not be defeated by military might, alone, but through intelligent and consistent strategies.

The recent killings of innocent American Muslim students in North Carolina, the burning of a Houston Mosque, spewing hate against law-abiding Muslims and Islamophobia only provide more ammunition for terrorists to kill and maim under the banner of Islam. Religion has been used and abused for centuries by self serving, greedy, states, murderous individuals and hate groups.

Defeating Daesh/QSIS must include the following strategies:

' Global military might involving many nations, including regional states.

' Assisting failing Arab states such as Yemen, Libya and war-torn Syria and Iraq, as in their chaos, terrorist groups reign and take hold.

' Arabs, Americans, Europeans and others must stay united against cheap attempts to divide us across faith traditions or national origins.

' We all must fight Islamophobia at all levels. Violent acts against Muslims, their houses of worships or demeaning their faith only encourages and empowers terrorist groups and wannabe terrorists.

' Muslims must unite to discredit and defeat this enemy of Islam, Muslims and all humanity. We must empower our youth with ethical and moral strength, be alert to and address signs of potential radicalization and maintain positive relationships with law enforcement.

' Demand responsible and inclusive reporting by media, rejecting efforts to spread fear, malign of Islam or marginalize law-abiding Muslims.

' Consistently and effectively respond to politicians, pundits and other self-proclaimed authorities on Islam.

' Continue interfaith efforts and dialogues to highlight our collective humanity and our commonalities.

' Stop giving legitimacy to this terrorist group and its offspring by using terminologies such as Islamists, Jihad, Jihadist or Islamic State to describe them and their actions. For example, Jihad in Arabic means 'personal struggle for self-betterment” and is an honorable concept. Using it in reference to terrorists mistakenly implies they are following Islamic teachings.

' Finally, Speak out against Islamophobia, and the demonizing and dehumanizing of Muslims. In our unity lies our strength to fight hate, terrorism, violence and mayhem.

' Shams Ghoneim is coordinator of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Iowa. Comments: shamsghoneim@mchsi.com