In the 10 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, anti-Muslim sentiment has been fueled throughout the nation by fear and intolerance of what is unfamiliar.

So say representatives of the All Believers Network, an interfaith group that is sponsoring a symposium today on promoting peace through the common thread in all religions.

The symposium, “One Reality, One Humanity, Converging Paths,” will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Unity Church of Hawaii. The group, formed in 2003, comprises people of 18 different religions.

“All intolerance is illogical,” said Maryknoll Sister Joan Chatfield, one of the panelists. “You can’t take what one person or group does, and say all people are like that. You don’t say all Germans are bad because of what Hitler did, and you don’t judge all others by a few who did dastardly things.”

Islamophobia has grown out of ignorance because people “don’t know who the Muslims are,” said Chatfield, who has a doctorate in the sociology of religion. Her talk is titled “Moving From Exclusion to Inclusion in My Faith.”

Her sentiments are echoed by other network board members, including founder Saleem Ahmed and professor Dharm P.S. Bhawuk of the University of Hawaii, who were interviewed earlier this week.

“Before 9/11, this was a free country,” said Bhawuk, a business professor who teaches managers of U.S. companies abroad how to incorporate the culture and psychology of a host country. “Now we live in self-inflicted terror. We are living with a fear we did not live with before.”

America responded to 9/11 with the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, multiple levels of screenings at airports, and other measures to increase our safety, he added.

“It’s been 10 years and we can’t forget it,” said Bhawuk, who in 2009 organized an international conference on world peace through intercultural understanding. “We are not safe, because we think so.”

Before the attack, some of the worst acts of terror on U.S. soil included the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, and a series of bombings by Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski up until 1996, he said.

“But people have forgotten about it because one of our own did it. If we think about it from a cultural perspective, we have different standards when one of our own does it,” said Bhawuk, who is of the Hindu faith.

“It’s a selective sampling of information. We should not have qualitative memories, and need to deal with our fears. I’m not saying we shouldn’t secure our airports, but we should be able to see our loved ones all the way to the gate. Part of the American life has been lost. We need to create an environment where we can trust and love each other, rather than segregate each other,” he said.

A story told by Lakota Indians, said Bhawuk, involves a fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, greed and all negative emotions; the other peace, love, compassion and the like.

According to the story, “This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too,” said Bhawuk. Which wolf will win? “The one you feed,” said Bhawuk. “We are feeding the bad wolf with fear. Do we need to feed that fear or are we going to do something about it? Feed the good wolf.”

Ahmed, a Muslim who authored “Islam: A Religion of Peace?” in 2008, said mainstream Muslims must be more proactive than reactive to Islamophobia.

(A recent report by the Pew Research Center says 55 percent of Muslim-Americans say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in this country, with more incidents of name-calling, suspicion from others, anti-terrorism precautions and such; but most are satisfied with their lives and communities.)

“Instead of saying the world is against us (Muslims), do some soul-searching as to why the world is against us,” said Ahmed, formerly associated with the East-West Center. “We’ve got to acknowledge there are many troubling passages in the Quran that al-Qaida follows. And say those passages are superseded and no longer relevant.”

When challenged by intolerance, Muslims should view it as an opportunity to study the Quran for their own edification and educate others on the more liberal beliefs revealed to Muhammad, including verses that call for the respect of Christians and Jews, he said. Unfortunately, Ahmed said, the Quran was written by many different translators who did not assemble the holy book in chronological order and did not quote the verses in context.

“The Quran passage most all-encompassing is one in which God says: I sent messengers to all nations of the world, and I have to respect and honor all of them,” he said. “Muhammad clarified that God sent 124,000 messengers all over the world. We’re all people inspired by the same reality.”

For information about the symposium, call Ahmed at 371-9360.