Standing against violence and hatred this Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan is supposed to bring out the best in people, but the attacks at a café in Gulshan last year just three days from Eid showed us the worst side of humanity.

Like a tyrant who tries to maintain his relevance by keeping everyone in fear, extremists have once again declared warnings of imminent attacks during the month of Ramadan, lest anyone should forget their terrorising presence.

Ramadan is meant for spiritual reflection -- a time when Muslims should strive to focus on God and all things divine.

This is also the month when the Qur’an was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad:

A man who taught about peace, charity, and self discipline; a man who exemplified kindness, compassion, and patience.

So far, IS has only established itself as an incarnation of the plague, not an embodiment of peace like the religion they claim to represent.

Calling for violence in the name of religion is sacrilege.

But perverting the message of Islam has been IS’s business from day one, so much so that its whole existence depends on keeping people from remembering the true message.

For decades, world leaders have been trying to eliminate religious fundamentalism with warfare and drone attacks; and that has proved not only ineffective, but the terrorists seem to have come back stronger.

Perhaps the only antidote to this grotesque expression of faith is what Islam has taught us from the beginning -- compassion.

Maybe this time, we can prevent the disillusioned youth from answering IS’s calls to violence by showing them the humanity they have been searching for all their lives.

It starts with us remembering the true message that Islam has taught us.