If the great response is #muslimapologies, there's a problem. #notinmyname makes sense, because it's about dissociating Muslims from those who claim to be acting in the name of Islam. "Muslims" invented numbers? OK, that can be argued, but they didn't invent numbers in the name of Islam. Do they not see a bit of a difference?

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/report/2011/08/26/10165/fear-inc/ Americans' ignorance of Islam mirrors their ignorance of how their media government and schools actively work to bring them an intentionally biased distortion if Islam. There is an active campaign to mislead Americans, heavily funded, as shown in the link above. The land of the free is the land of the mentally and culturally enslaved. Voices of courageous dissidents such as I.F. Stone,Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky are ignored by MSM because they challenge conventional thinking and speak/spoke truth to power. America is the new Pharoah, and the elite and the minions are hellbent on inventing a new permanent Israelite nation out of Muslims.

I think that part of the reason I never had a "Muslims want to kill us" reaction to 9/11 is that I'd already known a lot of people from the Middle East, both Muslims and Christians. I attended and worked at University of Arizona, which was popular with students from the Middle East, so I got to know them personally, as well as learn about their customs.

I also had taken classes in Near Eastern studies, which included not only the beginnings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but the thousands of years of history that led up to them.

Outside of that venue, however, I've found that people from the Middle East are often reluctant to talk about their culture. That might be why, when I mention to other Americans that charity is an important part of Islam, or that a lot Middle Eastern foods are similar to Greek food, they're often surprised. Maybe it would be enough if people from the Middle East -- either immigrants or their descendants -- just talked casually to American friends and co-workers about their culture, including their religion. If a co-worker brings up religion, share your point of view. If there's a potluck, bring a traditional dish -- food will win Americans over every time. If you're an immigrant or the child of immigrants, explain why and how you or your family came here. Most Americans are curious, and the more they know, the less likely they are to fear.

http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/268282/speedreads-france-says-the-name-isis-is-offensive-will-call-it-daesh-instead

i can't figure out how this piece bypasses the obvious perpetuator and culprit of dangerous, unfair perceptions of peaceable muslims - all the lazy thoughtless american media who continue to call a gang of butchers,bank robbers, slave traffickers and psychos the "Islamist State" instead the more proper word used abroad "daesh" this just riffed on less important things. public radio is right at the forefront of this dreadful ignorance.

That lady said, "Sorry for being born Muslim." That's as stupid as saying sorry for being born Republican, or sorry for being born a supporter of GreenPeace. Islam is a not a race. This is hard for some people, especially some Muslims, to understand but Islam is an ideology: it's a set of claims about reality. You are not born with a religion. You are not born with a political view (although you can have a natural affinity towards tradition or towards novelty.) This seems like an obvious fact, & yet here I am stating the obvious as if it's not common sense.

"Not In My Name" -- had been waiting to hear this sentiment since 2001.

"Sorry for being Muslim" is snarky, yes -- but only about as hip the drivel that drips from Russia/China/Arabia/France/BBC when it sneers that "Well, America is also hypocritical" when confronted with charges of human rights violations. Gutless and immature and totally boring.

"Not in My Name" is what "normal" people think to themselves would be the "normal" starting point for responding to a (not tiny) minority of members of your tribe or religion commit crimes against humanity in your very name. You go in public, telling your friends and strangers, "I don't agree." I was grateful and VERY relieved to see this campaign started (If the beauty of America is that anybody off the boat is just as American as anybody else, the corollary is that Americans have the right to be ignorant. Muslims inventing encyclopedias? Jews invented Google and Christians invented the printing press. Bully for each of the three but that still leaves us with the matter of 9/11. Personally I find religion to be a bit whimsical and mean for my taste, and would prefer NOT to know about religions in the first place. I'm an art and nature man myself.)

Re: "Sorry," the last thing I want to see on my already bloated twitter feed is knowitall college kids' explaining why they didn't do their homework.

Reflection, contrition, listening, changing -- these are the tools so powerful they span generations.

"Not in my name" opened a powerful dialogue between Muslims and their non-Muslim friends and neighbors that had been sealed shut. The unfamiliar became less so. It also demonstrates to the bad guys and their sycophants that at least 100,000 Muslims worldwide are willing to publicly renounce Islamic terrorism. Very brave and very welcome.