Replies

My letter to:

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, July 7, 2005

Sir. With all respect. I write the following. Firstly. While working at AT&T as a Integrated Circuit Designer, and later a Unix programmer and other fields of endevor I had worked quite closely with engineeers who where born and raised in Iraq, Iran, Afghansitan, and had a neighbor born in Lebanon. All these people where of one or another Islamic sect.

So in writing do understand I for many years had no reason to not think very kindly of them. I considered them friends.
I was invited into their homes, meet their families, helped cut one another grass, built things together, repaired our homes, sat around outside and discussed politics etc.. In the work environment, we worked as one. We had to meet project goals.
We sat and ate the same foods in the caffeteria. So surely I would not have been classified as being anti-Muslim by any
strectch of the word.

That being said. Since the attacks on the United States of America by obviouse maligned fundelmental Islamicist, and
all that has happened since. And re-learning in often quite often infinite detail all the attacks on the USA abroad, both at our embassies and such places such as a Marine barracks we maintain to help keep the peace in a troubled land, I have been forced to totally change my viewpoint on how I look at both Arab culture, Persian culture and other ethnic nationalities in the far east. Of course I have also read much on your religion that has become available.

So I am not writing from a position of "knee jerking". It has been made quite abundantly clear to most of America and
most westernized democracies in general that Islam has the many verses that make it known quite clearly what the duties
of every true believer in Islam must do concerning bringing Islam forth as the dominant world religion. The Koran is quite clear. There is no way of getting around what your religion preaches. You people have been stuck with this horrible yoke around your neck for some 1400 years. And no amount of saying that one misses the points due to transliteration in language etc., is even slightly honest to perpetrate at this point. The facts are well known how all true believers must act. And any sane person, any person of Godly conscientious surely must want to react in horror to put it quite clearly, as to how your religious leaders allow, often perpetrate, and sponsor at government levels on down, the continued teachings of parts of your common religion that ends up breeding religious fanatics, often totally un-learned in how much of the world
works, so as they have no balance, ability to discern what they are taught as being the work of Satan and not of the living and True God.

So with the above being said sir. I cannot help but wonder along with millions of Americans and other peoples of the world when you people in positions of power, authority, influence over your ethnic and religious brothers are going to put the foot down and do more then offer an occasional condemation when your fellow Muslims take more lives in the name of Allah.

Time may not be on your side. As you must sense, liberalism is having a difficult time protecting you. Millions of Americans and the numbers shall continue to grow, are starting to become accutely aware of what is going on. Really. They are starting to ask themselves questions. Amoung them being why if the "religion of Islam" is really so peaceful and abhords the killing of innocent human beings from other religions or have no religion at all, why are not their leaders putting a stop to what has been
going on for many years. Why do for instance the Arabs continue to blow up Israelis? Why do Muslim dominated governements turn their backs and allow people say like Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, the freedom to do what he has been able to do for so many years, obviouse to you as well as I, long before Saddam was removed from power. We are asking why and many people are are becoming more angry, more distrustful of any mid or far easterner they may encounter on the street. And the very very saddest part of all this is this country by our very nature, and going by our rule of laws and respecting our Constitution about personal freedom and the right of all our citizens equal justice under the law, and the right to pursue the freedoms our laws gaurantee are more and more faced with the delima of how to treat people of the Muslim faith. After all they continue to show
us they are not to be trusted. Which of you are working secretly for some terror cell that is hiding behind a supposed benign religious facade.

Surely though as unpleasant a task it is, it would seem the only hope for a better future for peoples of all religious persuasion, are for you Muslims in the position of authority to start openly not only condeming all in your mists that mean evil to the general public at large, but are intent on carrying out crimes of terror, to start rounding these people up and turning them into the appropriate
Federal and State authorities of this country. That is the only way we are going to start believing Islam is a religion of peace.
You must do your duty. You live in a land that offers you much. Otherwise you would not be here. If you are only here to arrange an eventual means of dominating all other religions then it should be noted that cannot work. How could it work. The very actions your religion preaches, show us that Muslims are simply not to be trusted, based on their actions and continued silence. If you fear having your throat slit. Then sir, it should be obvious to you at this point in your life that there are some terribly fundelmental problems with your religion. And if you realize this then for you and others in an equal position of understanding must start to turn the tide. Your organizations must start to be reactive NOT passive. And like any good neighbor, one must be willing to warn ones
neighbor who the bad people are. You would want the same treatment due you, right? If I knew you, and I knew someone wanted to harm you, is it not my duty as a "believer" to warn you someone wants to harm you? Is this not the way all peoples should treat one another. How many active cells of terrorist are operationg in the United States alone, I have not the slightest idea. But surely those peoples of the Muslim faith living in America must know many of them. Why are your peoples not speaking up?

I shall out of respect bid you good health and peace for the future, can I expect the same from you in how your conciouse will lead you?

George

Doug, it would appear that in your case, Al-Qaida has been successful in driving a wedge between good folks like you, and the majority of Muslims in the U.S., and that is really sad. This is the perfect time for you to have this dialog with your Muslim co-workers. I'm sure that they share our horror of the recent events in London.

Sadly, your knowledge of the history of the Quran is very shallow. It is just like that of those who take something out of context from the Old Testament in order to justify behaviors like that of the Third Reich. In fact, just about every religion has been abused as such. Have you ever heard of "The Crusades?"

Several weeks after 9/11, I wrote letters to both CAIR and ISNA, demanding to know why their organizations had failed to clearly denounce those terrorists who claim to have acted in the name of Islam. At the time they were worried about a backlash, but slowly learned that their silence was wrong. I am satisfied by their quick responses to this recent tragedy.

Your suggestion that they round up these miscreants makes me laugh. Do you think that most mosques have a list of local terrorists? Come on, get real! That said, it was nice of a local Muslim in nearby Lodi (CA) to tip off the FBI about some strange goings on there.

There are literally millions of American citizens who are Muslims, just like my second cousins. They are engineers, teachers, store owners and hair-dressers who share the same feelings as the rest of us regarding this tragedy, though, sadly, they are loathe to disclose their religion to others because of that wedge that you and many others are allowing the terrorists to place there.

George, you are a smart guy. This is the time to talk to your Muslim co-workers and neighbors. Ask them questions, engage in debate, tell them your perceptions of their religion. You will all learn something!