Sagepaper

Following is my response to a post by a British man on an AOL message board. He was fed-up with knee-jerk racist reactions. He emphasized that the terrorists were not typical of Muslims generally, nor of British Muslims. He pointed out that causing society to turn on itself was precisely the kind of outcome desired by the terrorists. Indicating that the terrorists had no regard for whom they killed, including Muslim commuters, he appealed for national unity.

From the other side of the Atlantic, I heartily agree with the sentiment that we not turn on one another when it is terrorists, regardless of ideology or religion, who are the perpetrators of this monstrous crime. Multi-culturalism is indeed a fact, and it's emergence has been a great advance for the civilized world. We benefit from the best that good people have to offer.

I would encourage you to take a small step I took in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks: I phoned each mosque in my community and told them that while they might be receiving hateful calls and threats, bigots were not in the majority. I spoke up for the "silent majority."
Unfortunately, sympathetic and concerned citizens were not making such phone calls. I was the only caller in Atlanta, Georgia to contact any of the mosques, let alone each of them. I was touched by the appreciation expressed by those on the other end of the line.

We did have some positive vigilante actions in the city. There were groups of citizens who went to Muslim-owned businesses and stood-by to deter anyone from vandalizing these properties. Elsewhere in the country, groups of citizens gathered outside of Mosques in a show of solidarity with our Muslim countrymen. These gatherings prevented a lot of violence that was feared might happen.

God bless each and every one of you!