A top official of the Barack Obama administration on July 10 said that Indian Muslims are not terrorists, though many of them are increasingly tired of being defined as such.
“I talk about the bloggers that I meet in India who are tired of Muslims being defined as terrorists,” Farah Pandith, the United States Special Representative to the Muslim Community, said in a web video chat. “They’re getting out there and talking about what’s happening in India, with 160 million Muslims in India – all of whom, by the way, are not terrorists, excuse me,” asserted the Indian-American.
“We as Muslims do not support the use of violence in any way, shape or form,” she said. “You have seen cross-cultural responses to Muslims and non-Muslims working together to push back against any kind of violence,” Pandith said. “We need to do more to engage and build dialogue. And what this President has said is that it is a priority for us to engage Muslims around the world,” she said.