On February 15, 2013, Muslim students at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, attended a Friday prayer service, seeking enlightenment and spiritual comfort. Instead they were delivered a Khutbah filled with offensive comments against sexual minorities and women. Unfortunately, the Cornell incident is not an isolated one.

At Muslims for Progressive Values we at fight peacefully against those who call themselves Muslim and inflict crimes against humanity. The incitement of hatred, examples of which proliferate our society, does not help our cause, nor humanity as a whole. It does the opposite. Hatred begets hatred

To my fellow Muslims -- the 99 per cent who are peaceful -- here is my message. Online articles, information and resources, including amateur video productions, are everywhere. "Policing" opinions on religious matters is unrealistic in most instances. But some of you say "Innocence of Muslims" is a special case and should be banned. Personally, I disagree. The video should not be banned, nor should any video that one finds disturbing because of its anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian or anti-religious content. Why? For a number of reasons.