It was on this morning 15 years ago, that I awoke just after losing my
grandmother Fira the day before 09.10.2001 and still in mourning. I was
awoken by a phone call from our friends from Israel, asking if everyone
is fine and what is going on in New York?
Still groggy from coming back
after a viewing the night before, I turned on the television to see one
of the world trade center towers in heavy smoke. As I was on the phone, I
stopped talking and just listened to the newscast,
occasionally translating over the phone. Then a plane came in and hit
the second tower, and we all now knew for certain that this wasn't just
some accident - it was a concerted terrorist act by a group of people
who don't value life, not even their own.
While calls were made about
not singling out Islam, but Islamic extremists/terrorists; the videos on
the web, as well as journalist reports, showed Muslim countries'
ordinary citizens celebrating and rejoicing at the tragic barbaric act
and its aftermath. What's more, we witnessed our own country's Muslim citizens celebrating the destruction and devastation. In this one swept moment, the ordinary Muslim
citizens supported their extremists' actions. I'm certain there were other
instances, but his one was documented.
If you want respect and
tolerance, the least you can do as a human being is show some respect
for human life and a tragedy like that. The most would be denouncing the
actions of the terrorists and sending heartfelt condolences to the
victims' families. What separates us from terrorists is our conscience
that respects each others' lives. A terrorist has no conscience like
that, and therefore ceases to be human. When you rejoice at the actions
of a terrorist, you are closer to that terrorist than to the rest of
humanity.
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