A man who stabbed three people in a London subway station Saturday tried to instill fear of ISIS by yelling, "This is for Syria," as he was hauled away by police. Instead, it is the words of a bystander that captured the world's attention.
When video surfaced on social media of the knife attack, a witness could be heard responding to the assailant's battle cry with the words, "You ain't no Muslim, bruv. You ain't no Muslim." ("Bruv" is London slang similar to "bro" in the United States.)
While the attack is being investigated as a terrorist incident, social media users adopted the hash tag #YouAintNoMuslimBruv to remind us that terrorism isn't confined to a single religion, nor is it condoned by the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslim population.
The hashtag echoed the sentiments of many Americans after a link was discovered between last week's deadly San Bernardino shooting and the Islamic State. President Obama also spoke last night about the importance of patience and national unity through what he described as the "long game" to dismantle ISIS.
There may be no simple answer to ISIS, but it should be obvious that all Muslims cannot be blamed for the actions of a few extremists.
