According to Alain Woodrow (Le Monde Section, July 31) “the fear of Islam” resurfacing in France is due to the “twin resurgence of Islam, both on an economic front, thanks to its oil resources, and on a political front, in the form of militant fundamentalism.”

Guardian readers will be surprised to learn that neither of these causes which are cited have anything to do with Islam. The fear generated by these factors is not a fear of Islam. It can only be said to be a fear of some Muslim nations or some movements launched by Muslim extremists. Islam and Muslims are not equal to each other.

The oil resources which are found in Muslim countries are after all, due to an accident of geography. What has this got to do with Islam? Islam existed before oil was found beneath Arab soil, and will survive after the exhaustion of the oil resources of Muslim nations.

As for fear on the political front, the Islamic fundamentalism which causes it is a product of misinterpretation of Islamic tenets. Some Muslim movements have adopted militant fundamentalism to achieve their worldly ends. The threat posed by such movements is not an Islamic threat: it is a threat posed by the politicised version of Islam which these movements represent.

If one sees Islam as a socio-political system, then one is bound to see the establishment of an Islamic state as essential to Islam. But Islam is not a mere social system. Islam, in the real sense, is a mode of individual behaviour, based on a personal sense of responsibility towards God. Islam is a God-oriented life, not a politics-oriented one. If the people of the world could realise the true Islam, then they would learn to love it rather than fear it.

Wahiduddin Khan,

President, Islamic Centre, New Delhi