Over the past few months, talks of ISIS attacks have increased with fear, bigotry and anger directed at the Muslim community reaching a fever pitch.

After the attacks in Paris, calls have again been raised across the world for Muslims to rise up and speak out against the Islamic State group in all the forms they may take.

I would like to reaffirm that once again those calls are happening, with those around the world taking to social media and using the hashtag #PrayForParis, and Muslims taking to the internet to use the hashtag #NotInMyName to decry the hijackers of their religion.

It is time that the rest of the world, particularly those in the western countries of Europe and the Americas, take this time to understand that the actions of a few thousand do not represent the over two billion practicing Muslims the world over.

Islam is a religion of peace and those that see and read the Quran for the teachings it give understand that what this group is doing is detestable to the religious scripture.

Islam does not teach killings, it does not teach hatred and it should not be represented by the barbaric actions taken by an idiotic group whose professed goal is to divide the believers and bring about the apocalypse.

After tragic moments our resolved as a single humanity must always hold us together.

I am a Muslim, they are terrorist and if we begin to blur the lines between the two then we are allowing them to gain the upper hand.