Routing Out

In December 2015, a 29-year-old British man of Somalian origin attacked three passengers with a knife at Leytonstone Underground station in east London, severely injuring one of his victims by cutting his throat, as he shouted “This is for Syria!" A non-Muslim bystander, who was concerned about the growing identifying and stereotyping of Muslims with terrorists, called out from the sidelines “You ain’t no Muslim, Bruv....”, coining a social media hashtag in a rally-cry against all perpetrators of violence in the supposed name of Islam. “You ain’t no Muslim Bruv”, even though declared by a non-Muslim, sums up the sentiments of ordinary true Muslims, who want no part in or identification with the sickness that is attempting to infiltrate their communities, taking advantage with lies and distortions of the disaffected, the deranged and the desperate, particularly if they are naïve and manipulable youth. In what we hope to be an ongoing series called “I’m a Muslim, Bruv”, we hear the voices of true Muslims, sta