Muslim, but not guilty

I am not a criminal, nor am I likely to commit a criminal act in my lifetime. I am not a terrorist, nor do I support people who commit or incite others to carry out acts of mass murder. I am as likely to die in a terrorist attack as you are. There is no reason for me not be vigilant.

But these facts do not convince people who believe that, unless I speak out against terrorists, that I am also one of the bad guys. Condemnations from the Muslim Council of Britain, the British Muslim Initiative, the Ramadan Foundation and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee make me realise that the only way to distance myself from terrorists is by vocalising my contempt for those who want to kill us. Being a law-abiding, tax-paying and gainfully employed citizen does me no favours.

As a Muslim, I have to prove I am human and that I object to people blowing themselves up, murdering others and creating a climate of fear. Why would my reaction be different to anyone else's? Here's why: Islam connects me to the terror suspects. A religion is all we share but this link is enough to make my friends, my family and me guilty, as if we are somehow to blame for what is happening in Britain, that we should have seen it coming, that we could be doing more to help the police and the intelligence services.

Why should I bear responsibility for the actions and intentions of people I have never met? Two years on from 7/7 and Muslims are still held accountable for the actions of terrorists and the only way to remove this suspicion is to state the bleeding obvious. Condemnation does not change al-Qaida's plans, nor does it protect us from attacks, but it reassures people that all Muslims are not evil. There is an inevitable race that follows counter-terrorist operations: which Muslim organisation will be first to deplore the atrocities. Such kowtowing only confirms that we have something to hide and that we should apologise for being Muslim.

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