Ad campaign to bust 'Muslims are terrorists' myth launched in London

An ad campaign aimed at dispelling the preconceived negative notions people have about Muslims has been launched in London, after a new poll revealed that most people in UK associate Islam with terrorism.

The ‘Inspired By Muhammad’ campaign will employ the London Underground, bus-stops and taxis as message bearers and will feature pictures of eminent Muslim faces like TV presenter and Islam convert Kristiane Backer.

The organisation behind the initiative, Exploring Islam Foundation said the campaign will underline the Prophet’s precepts that tell of the importance of the environment, gender-equality and justice.

"We are a group of young Muslim professionals and a lot of us have given our time voluntarily because we are very concerned about the way our faith is perceived by the public,” The Independent quoted Remona Aly, campaigns director of the Exploring Islam Foundation, as saying.

"We want to foster a greater understanding of what British Muslims are about and our contribution to British society. We are proud of being British and being Muslim,” she added.

The launch comes as an online survey of 2,152 UK adults carried out last month showed 58% of people associate Islam with extremism and 50% associate the world religion with terrorism.

The poll also found that 69% believe Islam encourages the repression of women.

A spokesman for Quilliam, the counter-extremism think tank, said: "We welcome the Inspired By Muhammad campaign as a valuable and timely step to help improve relations and foster deeper understanding between British citizens.”

"This initiative also helps British Muslims reclaim the Prophet Mohamed as a time-honoured guide for peace, compassion and social justice from those who seek to twist his teachings,” he concluded.