My friend wrote this on her facebook status: "The strange thing is that on the door of Ibrahim's house there is this sticker reads, 'Be a good Muslim or die as syuhada', says a TV reporter.

And so what? I once had a key ring with that writing on. Does that make me a terrorist? What's wrong with being a good Muslim? What's wrong with ending life as a syuhada? Syuhada is those who die when defending Allah; and they deserve Heaven."

Some commented on her status, all expressing agreement with her. In one of her replies, that friend of mine --herself a journalist-- added,

"... It is so pity that a journalist doesn't have a good sense on religious issues. He doesn't seem to understand what syuhada is and yet labels his finding of the sticker as 'strange'. Perhaps he assumes that syuhada is identical with people giving their lives up to commit suicide bombing. But we Muslims know that it is not..."

This friend of mine was commenting on a TV news reporting the condition of the abandoned house of a terrorist suspect in the recent hotel blasts in Jakarta, who was a Ritz Carlton florist named Ibrahim. Ibrahim can't be found anywhere after the bombing; his family and now the police are still searching for him. DNA test has confirmed that he isn't among unidentified remains of two suspect suicide bombers and a victim.

What the TV reporter was trying to say with that "strange" word –and what makes my friend pissed off-- is that the suspect status of Ibrahim can be as if confirmed with his having that sticker with “Be A Good Muslim or Die as Syuhada” writing on the door of his house, along with the finding of other "strange" things such as a Koran, some Arabic books, and other such stickers.

Regardless of whether or not Ibrahim was indeed involved in the much-condemned terror action, my friend made the point: now such Islamic attributes, quite common especially among young Muslim activists, have been recklessly used to justify whether or not a person deserves named a terrorist suspect. Now it is likely Muslims trying to show their devotion to Islam, including those merely bringing the Koran in their bags every day or having those stickers on, all deserve being suspected as terrorists.

The TV reporter isn't the only one who has done so; I've read such reckless connecting to "strange" things found in Ibrahim's house to his alleged involvement in the terror bombing in a number of online and printed media in Indonesia.

This is of course very upsetting to many Muslims, especially those who are trying to be a devout one; like me.

I wear headscarf and long loose gown that might resemble appearances of the or terrorist suspects or convicts’ wives (unfortunately!), I used to always bring a small Koran in my bag when I was a university student (not again now because I can't possibly reading Koran while running here and there after news), and I maybe a supporter to some of those reasonable sharia-based laws. But, does that make me a potential terrorist? No. Of course not! I, with all my heart, condemn any terror actions such as the recent twin ones in Jakarta. I even feel personally (and selfishly, actually) very inflicted with the stupid blasts because now people start staring at me weirdly again, as if I were among the terrorist group, and because I'm afraid it will again spur the Islamophobia and fail my plan to pursue a Master's degree in Europe (with the Embassy, for example, refuses to grant me a visa or scholarship because of my look-like-a-terrorist attire).

And what about my fellow Muslims, some of who might even show more evident Islamic attributes such as having stickers with that die as syuhada writing on their book covers or computers, taking part in rallies against the Israeli occupation in Palestine in front of the U.S. Embassy, or preaching about Islamic law or state in mosques?

Does that mean they're potential terrorists too, or very deserve being suspected as terrorists all the times?

I am presently working in what some may call a liberal environment; but I once had a pretty close in touch with those dubbed as conservative, fundamentalist or whatsoever communities.

I thus understand very well that these groups or these people, however conservative, fundamentalist they are said to be, will never do such things as terror actions like those allegedly committed by Al-Qaeda or the deviant-wing of Jamaah Islamiyah (which is believed to be involved in the July 17 bombing of Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta).

They may be in support to jihad (holy war in Islam), or --as my friend did-- want to die as syuhada (martyr), but their understanding of the two terms is 180-degree different from that claimed by the terrorists calling themselves Muslims.

As most Muslims believe, they believe they can only do jihad and die as syuhada when they are indeed in physical battlegrounds; not at all in peaceful places such as New York, London, Jakarta, or Bali.

And they mostly very well understand that even during wars they are not at all allowed to kill civilians, women, children, and even enemies' troops hiding in houses of worships (the last of which because they are not allowed to destroy houses of worship including those belonging to non-Muslims, as well as not allowed to destroy trees).

Now compare that with the terrorists' actions, who have killed whomever they could kill --including women and perhaps children-- in places evidently not a battleground.

The terrorists, too, name their brutal actions a jihad, and perhaps believe that they have died as syuhada.

But, the first Muslim group and the terrorists are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

The so-called Muslim terrorists (if they are indeed Muslims) are merely a deviation, whose birth has been highly questioned among us Muslims because never in our history we’ve heard about such thing as Islam teaches about killing people outside the battlefield. Never in our more than 1,000-years of history we’ve ever heard that we Muslims are told to kill non-Muslims wherever we meet them (exception is again in battlefields, and there are rules to obey, too, here such as not allowed to kill women and children I mentioned above). In fact we’ve too well understand how our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had lived side by side with the Christians and the Jews along his ruling period in Medina, and so did his successors.

And that is why many of us quite believe that there must be some kind of conspiracy to slander the entire Muslims with this very sudden birth of the terrorists calling themselves Muslims and jihadists (since 2001, may I remind, when Al-Qaeda allegedly did the September 11 attack).

Now I understand that people, not only the bombing victims and their families and friends, must be traumatized with the terror actions. I myself am; I didn't even dare to go to public places such as shopping malls and theaters a few days after the recent Jakarta bombing (I think I feel better now, however, and am ready to immediately go to movie to watch Harry Potter!).

And the trauma might make it difficult for them to think clear, thus they can't perhaps help quickly associating people with the very Islamic symbols I mentioned above with possible terror threats.

I don't mean to tell security guards at hotels, malls or other public places not to check the belongings of us who might, because of the Islamic attributes, look suspicious. Please, check us all, but do it indiscriminately, because the real terrorists could be anyone of the visitors, though I believe they would be smart enough not to look Islamically to prevent suspicion.

But, please, don't continually see and treat us as terrorist suspects just because of the Islamic symbols. Don't generalize things; it won't solve problems anyway. And if mere Koran or headscarves can be dubbed a clue to examine whether or not a Muslim is a terrorist suspect or a potential terrorist, get prepared to search for the terrorist suspects among millions of Muslims in Indonesia alone.

Like Austrians, who wouldn't want to be called or suspected as an incest rapist just because of Josef Fritzl, or the homosexuals, who rejected possessive, jealous stereotypes just because of Verry "Ryan" Idam Henyansyah's alleged serial murdering; we, too, Muslims refuse to be linked with terrorism just because we show or pose some Islamic attributes as the terrorists and their families do.

And to the Indonesian authorities, if you mull to, as the Chinese government has been doing, imprisoning Muslim activists because you consider them extremists or fundamentalists or whatsoever and thus link them to possible terror threats, imagine you try to kill a fly with a bomb. The fly might die, but look at the destruction you make.

And the worst thing is if the fly is actually controlled remotely, and the very person operating the remote control is standing by your side safe and sound, laughing impishly at the evil work he's done.

The whole universe will condemn you, if the rest of human beings in the world don't.