One word that has been much profaned these days is 'fundamentalism.'  It has been coined with malicious intentions and as such is a 'fake currency.'  Unfortunately people not only accept it, but use it without giving it a second look or thought.  Those who have given currency to the word 'fundmentalism' and 'fundamentalists' have not only done a disservice to those particular religions, but have also pushed back the process of peace and reconciliation between peoples of those different religions.  

All the religions are based on simple and sound fundamentals. None advocates violence, and terror. A person following the fundamentals of his or her religion cannot be an extremist.  Those who are extremists and terrorists are in fact and anti-fundamentalists. To call them 'fundamentalists' – Islamic, Hindu, Christian, or Sikh – is to target the religion itself, whereas the need is to target those who have not understood the essence and fundamental principles of their religion. The distinction has to be made.  We don't need a Sherlock Holmes to tell us: "Elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary."  So, from here on I will add 'anti-' in brackets.  

There is no 'extreme' Islam or extreme any religion.  As K.P.S. Gill, former Director General of Police of the Punjab, credited with crushing the Khalistan secessionist movement, told Fernandes: "Obviously, any religion can have its words twisted by zealots."  We never tire of saying that all religions preach peace, but in the same breath untiringly use the words coined by the popular media that are given currency to serve their end of hitting the religion at the roots. The medium is the message, and the more we use their terminology, not only do we help further spread their message, but also help grind their axes, which cut the branches that are giving us peaceful shade. 

Since in a Pavlovian way 'Islam' comes up in the West's conditioned way, whenever 'terrorism' is mentioned, it is worth mentioning what Deepak Chopra, author of 42 books, including Peace is the Way, wrote in the Ottawa Citizen just recently.  "If you look closely at Islam, it embraces every aspect of life. To be educated around the Quran, which is all that madrassas (religious schools) teach, is part of basing your family life, social customs, courts, government and almost everything else around the Quran," he wrote.  "This isn't evil, it's the way of Islamic culture, which has had great peaks and valleys, just like Christian culture," he added. 

According to Chopra, believing every dire news item without looking into it is the same as fostering ignorance. So is the acceptance of blanket generalizations about foreigners one hasn't even met.  One may add, and so also is the blind use of the words 'fundamentalism,' and 'fundamentalists.'  "I could make the radical suggestion that each of us go out and make friends with a Muslim family. That idea may be too shocking, but if we replaced ignorance with good feeling on both sides, the sad, familiar story would start to change. Removing our own ignorance is a unilateral way of dispelling terror that's completely positive," Chopra explained. 

This is reminiscent of what BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said quite a while ago that festival food specialties should come from Hindu neighbors on Muslim festivals and vice versa.  However, that thought existed just for the few fleeting moments while she was on TV.  Reality did not get to taste it at all.