To the Editor:

It has been heart wrenching for me to see the Islamaphobic response to the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. However, I was uplifted after attending the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom Muslim Jewish Women’s Leadership Conference held this past weekend right here in Princeton. The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom is a national organization with the goal of bringing Jewish and Muslim women together. This historic event brought together 350 women committed to spreading peace, and I am honored that it took place in my hometown.

As part of the conference I attended the jummah prayer at the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in South Brunswick, where Imam Hamad Chebli talked about how the Prophet Muhammad deplored extremism.
Most Muslims react to acts of terror with the same revulsion, fear, and sadness as everyone else. On top of that, they experience the verbal and physical abuse of strangers, fear that their children will be bullied, and live with the narrative in the mainstream media that casts them as threats to our society.

There are more than a thousand years of Muslim history and a billion and a half Muslims in the world today. It’s terrifying to me that people judge Islam by the actions of a small number of people and a few verses of a book they have never read. My Muslim sisters have the same hopes and fears, the same generosity, vitality, and curiosity, as everyone else. I can only hope I do them justice in trying to combat the wave of hatred they are currently experiencing.

Aliza Alperin-Sheriff

Robert Road