BUFFALO, N.Y. -- ISIS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks last week that claimed the lives of about 130 people in Paris. In the middle of the tragedy, Muslims across the world and in Western New York were once again preparing to defend their religious beliefs.
"Our community is completely against what they're doing, why they're doing it," WNY Muslims Executive Director Julie Algubani said.
"It's not just our organization that feels it's necessary to come out and be against these terror attacks, it's us individually," she said.
Algubani said she's tired of hearing claims that moderate followers of Islam are not rejecting ISIS. She said, as with every other attack the terrorist have claimed responsibility for, her organization condemns the acts in Paris.
"Every single time this idiot group does one of these stupid attacks, we're the ones that are suffering too. It's not just the victims that are lost. Now we have people attacking us in our own community whether it be verbally or something physical," she said.
Algubani said in particular, she's been disheartened by political calls to keep Syrian refugees out of the United States and Western New York.
"We are a diverse nation," she said. "We are supposed to be. That's what we're supposed to stand for. Yet the actions that these legislatures are taking are saying the complete opposite."
The executive director said although it's disappointing she has to continue to have the same conversation, if it can help other Muslims avoid prejudicial treatment, she welcomes talking about her beliefs.
"Islam is a religion of peace, it says it very clearly in the Quran," she said. "You are not allowed to hurt anybody and when one person hurts somebody, you're hurting an entire nation. That's what it's compared to."