Kamal Nawash, president of an organization calling itself the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism, recently apologized for 9/11. This unlikely event caught many, especially Muslims, by surprise.

“Why should he apologize for something he did not do?” said Mohammad Ibrahim, imam of the Bakersfield Islamic Center.

Luvna al-Qaini, 20, a radiology student at Bakersfield College, agrees with Ibrahim.

“I think (Nawash’s) heart is in the right place,” said al-Qaini, “but it was not right for him to apologize.” She thinks Nawash is trying to send the message that Muslims are not all terrorists, but she believes he inadvertently is sending the opposite message.

In an e-mail interview, Nawash explained that he wants moderate Muslims to stand up to extremism within their religion.

“Moderates should speak up against extremists,” Nawash said. “The only way we can defeat Islamic terror is for moderate Muslims to stand up against extremism within our religion.”

Nawash also appeared on Fox News recently and voiced his hopes of Arab and Muslim governments speaking out against Islamic terror.

“Regardless of the hesitation that Arabs and Muslims countries previously felt about declaring war on terrorism, I have no doubt in my mind that now Arab and Muslim governments will declare full war against the terrorists and extremists, and this is why I say that this is the beginning of the end for them although it may not be tomorrow or next year,” he told the Fox News Channel.

Ibrahim, the local Muslim leader, said Muslims are often the ones most affected by terrorism.

“People need to understand our religion. We are so often exposed to hate crimes; we shouldn’t be treated like this,” he said. “Islam is not a religion of war, not a religion of terrorism. The main principle of Islam, in fact, is peace.”

He believes instead of apologizing for what a group of terrorists did in the name of Islam, Muslims should reach out to non-Muslims and teach them what their religion truly represents.

“We (Muslims) respect other cultures and religions. … We love them and respect them, we give them protection in our countries, we get married to them,” he said.

Nawash’s coalition agrees that Muslims are mostly peaceful but still insists Muslims should do more to fight the ultra-conservative wing of Islam that often feeds recruits to al-Qaida.

Islam, a monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Muhammad around the year 610, is the fastest-growing religion in the world. Currently, there are about 1.3 billion followers of Islam’s three main branches (Sunni, Shi’ite and Khariji), or about 23% of the world’s population.