A Moroccan man who saw the terrible attacks last night in Paris which killed at least 129 people decided to post a video online in which he apologized to the French people and told them:
“We are not like this.”
That video has now been viewed nearly 150.000 times in less than 24 hours.
In the video, Wafi Abdouss comments:
“By now people realize these people are not Muslim, they don’t represent Islam, because they’re not. They don’t represent what we believe in. These so-called ‘jihadists’ and fundamentalists, they only represent themselves. And I just wanted to extend my deepest condolences to the French people.”
Abdouss also calls the attacks a criminal act:
“What happened was a crime, it was a horrible terrible crime. These people should be caught and should be brought into justice, and as a Muslim, as a Morrocan, as an Arab, I just want to say that it is really sad and that I want to extend my deepest condolences to everybody.”
And perhaps the most important message this brave and caring man had for the world is also the most important: Not all Muslims are terrorists or support the actions of barbarians such as those in ISIS or Al Qaeda:
“I hope that you don’t think that all the Muslims are like this, that all the Arabs are like this. Because they’re just a very small minority, a really really small minority, and not even a minority, just a couple of crazy people.”
As I sat and watched the coverage of the Paris attacks last night, it was, I admit, tempting to give into the darker angels of my nature and condemn all who practice Islam as hateful people who consider themselves to be my enemies. But then I watch Wafi Abdouss’ video and I realize something we all need to remember: If we allow ourselves to become as inhuman and callous as those who perpetrated this horror, then they truly have won.
