السلام

Peace. People, be at peace. Please people, stop the insanity. Stop the hate. Put down your weapons and reach into the love and peace in the Qur'an and be at peace. America does not hate you. America has a heart as big as the entire world. In our cities and homes here in America we reach out to you who have come here from war torn, impoverished nations all around the world.  When you were hungry, we gave you food stamps.  When you needed shelter, we gave you shelter.  Try to see beyond the war and violence that is in your world.  We want to love you if only you will stop your violence.

Love each other, embrace each other and let your own hearts be filled with the light of our future which will only come if you will allow room for all of us.

If the Prophet Muhammad and Jesus Christ and Master Buddha were to all come down here right now, wouldn't they be upset with us?  If we say we love our spiritual leaders, then why do we have to protest and fight and kill for them?  

Please everyone just put down your protest signs and go home to your wives and children.  For those of you out there who are hating America, take another look. Your people are here. America is the world.  America is not a handful of rich old white men (WASP) who are ruling the world.  The old empire is long gone. America is a country where all religions, all worldviews, all cultures, nationalities have the inalienable right to freedom of speech, of creative freedom to write, to design, to speak in however way one chooses to speak.  

Yes, there are ugly, rude and ignorant films out there, made by unenlightened people.  But, there are also pornographic films that display despicable acts in violation of children and women. Do you really think violence is the best response? Reactionary violence is not an enlightened response.  Here in America, when we are offended by ignorance such as that in this film the Muslim world is reacting to, we put our thoughts out there through letters to the editors in newspapers.  In America we have a national conversation  in the press, on the news. We pass laws. We hold town meetings. We may have a peaceful protest, but we don't blame a nation or a government for the poor creative choices of an individual.

Why do you pick up on - seek out even - a reason to feel offended by one insane person's rude portrayal of the Prophet?  Anyone who has even a modest education is well aware of the dignity and beauty of the Qur'an and yet this global overreaction to one person's stupidity makes fools of all of you.

If Americans are going to apologize for one stupid, ignorant and rude film, we better get to work because there are others that are far more violating and ignorant that exploit the minds, souls and bodies of our children and women. Who is apologizing for those?

Listen world! The crusades were fought centuries ago. The blood that was spilled then, is long gone. We have a global environment to clean up.  We have a world economy to put back on track.  We have starving children everywhere - in America's inner cities as well as in African nations.

We have got to stop this madness.  Whoever you are and wherever you are, put down your weapons, get over your religious pride, and live in peace with your neighbors - whether they are Christians or Jews.  We have more important things to do together as a world than to be fighting over something that isn't worth fighting over.  Stop spilling blood in reaction. America is you. As I look at the faces in our grocery stores, in our streets and schools, they are Muslim Arab Americans, they are Pakistani, they are South Korean, Philipino, Australian, African American, Irish American, Norwegian, Polish.  They are you - world.  They are you who came here to find peace and live and express your natural human rights of self expression.  When you decide that you are going to "hate" America, it is they who you are hating.  They are your people.  They are yourselves.

Your hate is your fear.  Face your fear and the phantoms that you lunge at or who lunge at the world through you, will go away.  They are not real.  But, your faith in your fear, your emotional and psychological investment in your fear is the most terrible fear.

Seek peace.  For God's sake, for your children's sake, for the world's sake, seek Peace.

                                                            السلام

Photo courtesy of CBS News.