Letter to bin Laden ~

Originally posted on January 1, 2005

this essay anticipates by almost 2 years

our current endeavors to "talk to our enemies"

On New Year's Day, to wish people a year of happiness is cynical and naive. Like all the years we have already lived, this one too will undoubtedly be replete with a diversity of feeling and experience. What we should really try to do, is enkindle in each other a fervent desire to establish the reality of peace. Toward that end I have addressed an open letter to Osama bin Laden, in whose hands the prospects for peace in our time may conceivably dwell ~

To Osama bin Laden:

Although your hands and ours are stained with blood, you may be the catalyst who can bring peace to the world.

Perhaps, as you revisit the Koran, you should do so with a clearer mind. Nowhere in it does Allah authorize the killing of innocent men, women and children. It must be Satan’s deceptive voice that has been sounding that diabolical message. God rarely uses words to communicate with us, but His actions always speak with unambiguous and resounding eloquence. The tsunamis, the floods, the quakes and all the other disasters which wreak such undescribable havoc, must be a sign of His wrath and His diminishing concern about our fate. And if that is so, why is He angry? Why is He turning away from us? Have we broken our covenant with Him? Is God revolted by the heinously unforgivable things we all keep doing to each other?

Is this not then a propitious moment for Islam to stop the Jihad and begin to join the West, as it once so gloriously did, in a united and compassionate effort to bring comfort, healing and vital physical assistance to all of humanity? You have an army of zealous followers. They look to you for direction and inspiration. Would it not please Allah to see them joining their foes in rendering help and offering kindness to all of our fellow creatures? Should we not cease inflaming Iraqis, Afghans, Palestinians, Israelis and so many other hostility prone people around the world?

Under the dark and fearful clouds of war, everyone is a victim. In the wake of warfare there is only carnage, ruin and despair. But under the broad umbrella of Peace, good will has a chance to flourish. And when people feel inspired to work together, shoulder to shoulder, and heart beside heart, God's will is done. And when God is pleased, everything is possible.

Osama, I would like to believe that the Archangel Gabriel, whose name my family proudly bears, is now offering you similar counsel.

Comment:mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net