The more I learn of the attacks in Paris, the less I can believe the gross display of inhumanity that occurred this past Friday. The loss of a single innocent life is tragic, but the fact that the losses include so many youth, who were just enjoying a Friday night in a vibrant city, is heartbreaking.

The international outrage and mourning has been widespread, and justifiably so. However, it is important that we contextualize the events that occurred on Friday and those that have indeed occurred all too frequently since Sept. 11, 2001.

We must take care to focus our collective outrage towards those who are truly responsible whilst not contributing to the unwarranted suspicions and rampant fear that has plagued many of our friends in our own communities.

In no way do I seek to downplay the tragedy that took place in Paris, but it is true that we as American citizens are very selective as it pertains to who we feel deserves our sympathies and prayers. Check your Facebook and you will see an overwhelming amount of profile pictures changed to show our solidarity for France. Mine is included among them.

Now keep digging through your News Feed and you will be hard-pressed to find any mention of the blasts in Beirut that killed over 40 people and injured over 200 more. The same can be said for catastrophes that have occurred in other countries like Iraq, where the frequency and lethality of bombings since 2003 has become unprecedented and the vast majority of the deceased are innocent civilians.

We tend to mourn lives that we deem are worthy of our thoughts and prayers, but too often we don’t spare a thought for those who live in predominantly Muslim countries where horrific violence has become a part of their weekly routine.

We believe that Islam is inherently violent and the teachings of the Quran are solely to blame for the acts of terrorism the world has endured. I can tell you with certainty that this is not the case.

The many Muslim friends and acquaintances I have made at UK have affirmed that no matter what God you may believe in, there are no more kind-hearted and pious individuals than those of the Muslim community. The Muslim citizens of America love this country as much as anyone else, and I can tell you I have seen the deep pain that they feel when they see it hurt by the acts of those who claim to represent Islam, yet are not truly Islamic.

They are as responsible for the twisting of their teachings as much as white Christians are for the twisting of ours by extremists that have resulted in the bombings of abortion clinics, the rise of the KKK, and the bigotry of so many others.

The U.S. is facing yet another crisis of conscience as a direct result of the attacks in Paris. As of today, nearly half of the nation’s governors have issued declarations stating that refugees from the Syrian war will not be welcome in their states. There have even been calls among the Republican Party for “religious testing” in order to allow only Christian refugees into the country while excluding Muslim refugees. This flies in the face of every ideal in which we as Americans believe.

These refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who are fleeing the same horrors that the people of France endured this past week. Yet, their religion and their ethnicity qualify them as a people who don’t seem to warrant our sympathies, let alone our willingness to actually help protect them from the atrocities they face.

We would do best to remember that nearly every American citizen is here today because of this country’s willingness to open its arms to us and our ancestors, many of whom also fled persecution.

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