More than a dozen Pakistani and Muslim-American community activists came together Wednesday in Mineola to speak out against recent terror attacks around the globe.

Reports say Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 148 people. Most were children.

The attack followed a weekend hostage crisis in Sydney, Australia. Officials say an ISIS sympathizer took 17 people hostage in a café. Two hostages were killed along with their captor.

"1.6 billion Muslim people all over the world are very peaceful people and they do not believe in terrorism or in their twisted ideology," said Ali Mirza, a community activist.

Leaders say there needs to be better education in the Muslim world so young men will not fall victim to radicals. They also say law enforcement in the United States needs to stay vigilant, pointing out that attacks could happen anywhere.