Wichita State University's Muslim Students Association (MSA) say they feel forced to defend their religion after the attacks.
"The first thing that came into my mind was 'please don't let this be a Muslim,' because I think with that comes the whole burden of condemning something you know you don't stand for," said Maira Salim, a WSU senior and president of the MSA.
The phrase, "terrorism has no religion" started trending on Twitter hours after the attack.
Thousands defended Islam as a non-violent faith, with tweets like "#IamMuslim. I condemn the Paris attacks" and "ISIS is NOT Islamic."
"I think as Muslims, we have to stand up for what Islam truly is and say no, this is not what Islam is about," Salim said.
The Muslim Students Association at WSU posted on Facebook, quoting the Quran, "Whoever kills an innocent person, it is as if he has killed all of humanity."
"It's our responsibility as an organization or as a Muslim in general to speak out against this violence. Because there is a misunderstanding of what a terrorist is, and what a Muslim is," said Taben Azad, another student with MSA.
When student Nibras Karim heard about the Paris attacks, she immediately started researching.
"Trying to know everything that's going on, I need to get all my facts straight. Just so that I can make sure when people ask me about it, I can prove it's not connected to Islam," Karim said.
"Educate myself so I can be a sort of spokesperson for my religion," she said. "It's kind of not fair to have to represent billions of people."
The students say the best way to get a better understanding of Islam is to talk to someone who is Muslim, or visit a local mosque like the Islamic Society of Wichita, where the prayers are always open.
"I think the online spectrum is bombarded with false information," Azad said. "Islam calls for people to smile, it calls for people to have good relationships with their family, to pray, and help people who are marginalized. Those are the important parts of Islam that people just largely ignore," he said.
"Instead of seeing it as something else and something other, seeing it as something that's within your community and that has connections to you," Karim said. "It's important to acknowledge that Muslims are Americans as well," she said.
- KWCH TV