In referring to John Teo's recent letter It's time Mslims really spoke out , I cannot help but to write down my two cents worth.

Yes, I do agree with Teo that each time these terrorists commit a heinous crime and proclaim that they do it in the name of Islam, this ultimately projects Islam negatively as being barbaric. I also agree that currently Islam is being crucified publicly and suffers a serious public relations problem.

However, as a Muslim I will not be apologetic. Why should I be sorry for being a Muslim? These people who commit these crimes do so for personal reasons and do not represent the world Muslim population nor do they represent Islam.

But unfortunately, as Teo pointed out correctly, reality shows that the majority of the Western media audience view these terrorists as representing Islam.

What CNN, Fox News, BBC etc. and the rest of the news mongers do not tell is that these 'terrorists' who are from the most oppressed and volatile countries in the world (which just happens to be Muslim countries) are no different from the soldiers of countries that are controlling Iraq today.

Nor are they any different from the soldiers of the US who have conducted military interventions in the name of world peace during the last century.

Many Muslims believe terrorists commit their crimes because they feel that it is the only way to retaliate - Machiavellians who believe the end justify the means. I am not saying that I agree, I don't.

There are never good enough reasons to commit terror. But in political reality, people who have been pushed to the wall will do what ever it takes to survive and will fight back.

In actual fact, the al-Qaeda and the US are the same - terrorists but with different masks. The only thing that separates them is that the US, through its multinational corporations, controls world public opinion.

Because of this, the Muslim world has to bare the brunt of whatever image it projects of us but that does not mean that we will be apologetic for being Muslims. We are victims of the world media. Let's face it, how does one beat CNN or Fox News?

As Muslims we should not be defensive and constantly try to win peoples' hearts by bending left and right. But also we shouldn't just stand idle either. What we should be doing is to be more pro-active through outreach programmes in our own communities to explain the real Islam.

This also goes for non-Muslim communities who shouldn't just absorb what the media feeds them but should be critical enough to find out the truth.