Early Tuesday morning in Sydney, Australia, police stormed a cafe and freed numerous hostages, ending a 16 hour siege. Three people were killed including the gunman. While police haven't publicly identified the man, a source is naming him as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee. Monis had a history of extremist behavior and mental instability. Hostages in the cafe were forced to display an Islamic flag, causing fears of a "jihadist" attack in the Australian city. Around 2 am local time, several hostages managed to escape the cafe after gunshots were heard. As a result, police moved in with heavy gunfire and stun grenades.
First of all, my condolences to the victims, the hostages, and anyone else that was affected by this event. With that in mind, I hope no one begins to blame Islam as a whole for the actions of one man. Ever since 9/11 and even before then, there has been a sort of stigma against Muslims and I think it's unnecessary. Even if several groups of Muslims have perpetrated acts of terrorism worldwide, this shouldn't affect the image of the religion as a whole. These acts, driven out by Muslims or not, were influenced by extremist and unstable behaviors. This is another example of why we should practice tolerance of other people's opinions, beliefs, and heritages.
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