The latest attack, in a series of numerous terrorist attacks around the globe, took place in France on Tuesday when two terrorists attacked a church, and slit the throat of the auxiliary priest present there. This latest barbarity has sent shock waves across the world, and no words of condemnation would suffice. ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack, trying to portray it as a war between Christians and Muslims by saying that the two attackers did this “in response to the call to target Crusader coalition states.” While ISIS cloaks its attacks in supposed religious symbolism, its actions cannot be further away from the teachings of Islam. After all, what can be the biggest deviation of a religion that compels its believers to respect people of other faiths and protect their places of worship than to carry out attacks on churches? In the words of a witness from the church, Sister Daniele Delafosse, the perpetrators “…gather[ed] around the church altar and perform[ed] some sort of religious oration in Arabic before forcing Hamel to his knees and placing a knife to his neck.” One terrorist is said to have shouted, “Allahu Akbar” before exiting the church. What could be worse than chanting God’s name to kill an unarmed, old man, who was serving people in the name of God, in a place of worship of God? This is not the first time ISIS has supported or carried out attacks against Christians as they have been the target of ISIS atrocities in Iraq for the most part. And while ISIS’ claims for responsibility in attacks on other countries may not be backed by solid links between ISIS and the perpetrators, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that this wave of terrorism has behind it inspiration from calls for “jihad” by ISIS. Terrorist attacks in Europe are on the rise. The attack on Brussels airport, the 2015 Paris attacks, the Nice carnage, and Orlando shooting to name some, have left the continent in a state of fear and paranoia. The presence of enemies both within and without has initiated a debate over the dialectic of violence that is giving rise to these attacks. The perpetrators are not simply militant Islamic extremists, as the Munich attack was a clear case of racial targeting and far rightist bigotry, which had a link with a similar attack in Norway five years ago. The fact that these two polarised camps, that of the far right and militant Islam, are manifesting their violent tendencies through the same barbaric means calls for a nuanced approach towards the issue, which shuns the binaries that these militants themselves create. Labelling entire Muslim communities as bigots and terrorist is falling for the trap of these terrorists as they wish to create a world that is divided along their own supposed binaries. Amidst all this it must not be forgotten that Muslims are the biggest targets of terrorist attacks throughout the world. This is no surprise since radical Islamic terrorist organisations operate in a dialectic of purification in which all those deviating from their supposed “true” teachings of Islam are declared infidels and thereby deserving death. The recent attack in Kabul, which left around 80 dead and more than 30 wounded, is an example of the scale at which Muslims are the victims of terrorism. All these terrorist attacks need the most vociferous condemnation from the Muslim world so that the narrative of terrorism can be effectively countered. For this Muslim clergy would have to come forward and denounce terrorism in all its forms, and distance Islam from these barbaric acts. It must be realised that this religious space that the terrorist have taken over needs to be reclaimed by peaceful Muslims so that the world can be rid of this menace. *