THIS WEEK once again we have all witnessed the painful sickening scenes on our television screens when man regresses to his base animal instincts and becomes a wild barbarian, murdering indiscriminately.

The evil terrorists in Paris not only murdered in cold blood they also, by their actions and their claims, attempted to murder and malign the faith I hold so dear.

By their evil actions and the blood they spilt on the streets of Paris they, along with others who recently murdered 132 children in cold blood in Peshawar, joined the ranks of a breed of evil that knows no humanity, no decency, no morals, no religion.

They say they kill in the name of God, the same God that tells me if someone kills one soul it is as if he had killed the whole of mankind.

How do you fight their evil ideology, their perverted thinking that brainwashes disillusioned, confused, impressionable young minds, turning them into monsters?

We Ahmadi Muslims will fight their ideology like we have always done – we will fight it with love, with reason and human compassion. We will fight it by loving our neighbour as our Lord has taught us. We will fight it by continuing to proudly practice our faith, which teaches us to be upstanding citizens of our country – giving blood, planting trees, cleaning streets, helping the needy, educating our children to be true citizens of this world. We will fight their ideology by continuing to spread peace and love amongst the societies we live in, here in Keighley and everywhere else in the world where we reside.

Although this week my heart bleeds for those who have lost their lives and their loved ones, I take some solace from the fact all such previous violent murderous ideologies have died a natural death, and so to, I believe, will this violent extremist ideology that has hijacked my faith.

DR AZIZ AHMAD HAFIZ

Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Keighley president