Good Evening:
I have a good friend, we met five years ago and we have shared many cigars, shisha, coffees and conversation. Mohamed, now a Canadian, grew up in Egypt and moved to Canada after a finishing school.
Lately, with the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, with all their outrageous despicable acts to both people and culture, the conversation became strained as everyone held back their thoughts, questioning the ability to speak their minds without offense and causing hurt. We live in the west, Alberta, and the sense of community and friendship is a very strong bond, we all need to work and live together to survive and flourish. Today we were having a smoke and talking about work, Mohamed runs an IT company, health, family - all of the issues we all face everyday. Then picking up his Blackberry Passport, he passed it to me and said "I wrote a letter I would like you to read." I took the Passport and read the following:
Can we ever live in peace? I want to live
in peace and die in peace with the right to worship whom I believe in with a
live and let live mentality, respect for everyone.
I am a Muslim and I believe in my religion,
I believe in one God and I believe in his mercy, forgiveness, and I believe in
his power, his retaliation, and I marvel at his creation. I also respect other
people's beliefs and expect the same back.
This world we live in though, it's always
people fighting for power for land for resources...etc. When there's enough to
go around, enough beauty in the world that a lot of people don't get to see
because of wars, war on terror, drugs, "jihad" and it's in quotes
because I don't believe the likes of isis or the other guys that are using this
word as a tool for recruitment to unwitting teenagers that are frustrated with
how there's just a general hatred in the west towards Islamic belief, where now
a days Islam has just become associated with terror - unfortunate.
I also don't
approve of how Islam has become associated with terror but instead of calling
Jihad and fighting against whomever I deem to be an "infidel" for
whatever reason I'd like to cook up and go commit suicide or atrocities against
human life, cities, history and culture and then call it Islam????????
Really????? I just voice my opinion towards what I think is wrong with an open
mind to discussion. And people eat islam=terror up as yeah, sounds right,
either some will join and the others just generally retaliate against all
Muslims with hatred or otherwise.
To anyone that can hear this, think about
our kids, don't you want them to grow up in a world ready to be explored?
Filled with beauty, opportunities and wonderful and unforgettable experiences?
Even if you don't have kids, think about your opportunity to live in that world
a world with respect, peace and just general happiness all around.
To racism, I say we're all different but
all the same. Human emotion is human emotion, we all need earth to survive,
share the resources, no race doesn't need to sleep or eat...etc. We all have
more in common with each other than we have differences as different races.
Oh how I wish I can be free to go wherever
I'd like on earth without being judged, prosecuted, or even recruited because
I'm from a country, race, or religion.
In the real world though, everybody thinks
they're on the right and have just to absolutely force it on everyone else
around them. Land has to be governed by a sect and for power and the idea of
More people forget the day they live in, seeking a tomorrow with More, and it's
just never enough. Never stops. But again I ask, what do I have to do with
this? Can't I just live in peace performing my daily duties as a Muslim towards
God and enjoying what the world has to offer just like anyone else.
Whether it's an order online from a US
based company that's shipping from the US, to me shipping an electronic device
to my aunt in the US where she has lived for at least the last two decades
without any issues, there's always a hassle, always problems, always against my
name, just my name. And I have stories. I'm afraid to leave the country I'm in
just because of my name.
I mean I'm outside right now and what a
beautiful day it is today and looking 10 feet away from me birds digging little
dirt holes probably to tuck into when the wind picks up but really, can't we
just all have the chance to enjoy this and more. Work hard, contribute to
society, no matter how much of an "outsider" you are, no one can just
function alone or maybe there's a few but from trillions? Remember that! As
much as each person is special there are trillions of us that have lived and
that are living. So nothing gives you the right to judge the other guy next to
you based on what they believe in or the race they're from. There are common
rights and wrongs that we all agree on, can't we govern each other by those
common rules. Our judgment is not up to us, whatever you believe in.
Mohamed's eloquence on the ISIS issue and his yearning for sanity and understand touched me, I have to share it so I asked Mo if I could put it in this blog for others to read, Everyone needs to reconsider their thoughts about how we live searching for liberty and peace, transcending race, religion and prejudice As a friend I can say he is a great guy, a good friend and a great citizen in our community - a brother.
All the best,
J
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