Comments on: Spending seven Septembers hijacking my religion back

By: TIM HARTWELL

TIM HARTWELL — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:25:29 +0000

Why do we have all this religion in this world and no tolerance???

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:31:25 +0000

Where would this world be without religion? Hmmmm.....PEACEFUL!!

By: Waleed

Waleed — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:59:35 +0000

my thoughts and prayer are with all the families and loved once of the victim's of 9/11, this unjustifiable ' senseless act of violence the world will never forget, and I would like to add to this, why won't we also remember the hundreds of thousand of Innocent Iraqis that also lost their lives? a life is a life, and we should never value on life over another, the hearts of American mothers who lost her child ' does not hurt more or less ' than the Iraqi mother who also lost her child, death hurts us all just the same, Bush personal hate for Islam, and Saddam has blinded him from making the right decision, he wanted to please the American people by any means necessary' even if it meant the destruction of an entire country, and the killing of so many Innocent people, Please. Pause for a moment and think about this " The Iraqis paid a Heavy Price for a Crime That They Did Not Commit. May God Bless the souls of those who lost their lives in Vain

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:03:52 +0000

Thank you. That was very well written. And thank you CNN.

This is hard for me.
I am not religious and I don't understand the faith that people can put so heavily into religion however it is days like today that I wish I could believe, it is days like today that I wish I had something or somebody to be angry at, to blame.

I SO wish that we as a world could come together and work to move forward more united world. Everybody needs to strive to be more open-minded. We all know that not everyone has the same beliefs. So why should every Muslim person be held responsible for the extremists actions? We cannot blame the religion. They all have their nuts.

For those of you who lost a friend or family member- I am sorry. I can never know what it feels like to be in your shoes and I realize there is nothing I can say to make it better, even a little. But I hurt for you. My heart breaks for you. I hope that you are able to forgive, if not today then someday.

By: Uma, Liverpool, UK

Uma, Liverpool, UK — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:58:55 +0000

@ P Larsen & others who think this way:

My question to you is – if there really is 1 billion peace loving Muslims out there, why are they so quiet? Why don’t I hear anything but radical voices from the side of the Muslims?

You hear what the US media let you hear. The US media, contrary to popular belief, are not 'free'. Now that I live in the UK, and watch CNN-International (still biased, but MUCH less so), I see news every day, which is simply NOT news in the USA.

If nobody tells you, how are you supposed to know? I recommend reading (Qatari) 'Al-Jazeera' online. It is one of the most scrupulously accurate news sources on the PLANET.

It's not news unless the news media SAY it's news. So here are some bits of 'news' from CNN-I:

Over half of all university students in Iran are women. They have women fire-fighters in Iran! A Qatari Sheikha is one of the biggest real-estate developers in her area. Beirut is coming back, as the 'Jewel of the Mediterranean'. The backlash against the US (and Coalition) Forces in Afghanistan does not come from Taliban/Al-Quaeda, but from the Afghanis, who do not suffer conquest - and NEVER have done! Business in the Middle East is MUCH more than oil-drilling. There is a place in Qatar where it rains in the Summer, and it is beautifully green, lush, and peaceful. Yemeni Jews are Yemeni, as much as they are Jewish.

Another New Yorker for Peace.

Sala'am, Shalom, Shanti.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:40:30 +0000

ulysses your statment placing Bush and Bin Laden on the same side makes you an unashamed idiot. Just thought that needed to be pointed out.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:33:07 +0000

What a great article? As a Christain I believe my religion has been hijacked by right-wing conservatives to promote a political party or to create a cultrual war in country.

By: bobbie

bobbie — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:32:49 +0000

Amen! Beautifully stated ~ I stand with you.

By: martha

martha — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:18:39 +0000

I applaud you, sir. The world needs more people like you.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:18:12 +0000

Spoken like a true pacifist! Now let´s get to the realities of the world. YOUR religion is what is responsible for the terrorism of 9/11, 3/11704, 7/7/05, Bali, Saudi, Yemen, etc, etc., besides the thwarted plans of dozens of others. YOUR religion and the words of the Koran is what inspires the tens of thousands of terrorists around the world, their recruiters, their financiers, and their ideologists. It´s ISLAMIC preachers calling for the destruction of all unIslamic, and doing so through violence and "martyrdom" and the callings from the Koran. Only in MUSLIM families are girls and women butchered by their own fathers and brothers for " honor." Yea, right, we should lay down our weapons and seek peace. Sorry, that hasn´t worked. So why don´t "all" (as you catagorize peace loving Muslims) Muslims rise up against the supposed " few" of you and put and put down these " knuckleheads" you say have hijacked your religion? Come on...the world is waiting. Take charge. (And by the way, Islam doesn´t mean " peace," it means " submission." Which is what Islam demands of us all, Muslim or not.)

By: bryancoleman

bryancoleman — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:16:49 +0000

In response to Matt from New York

No, unfortunately the term "jihad" was not hijacked by the media. it does in fact mean holy war and the jihad that we are facing today is something that is commanded of all muslims in the Koran. You have been fooled by propaganda, as many are.

You would be well advised to look into the writings of Brigitte Gabriel, a lebanese christian who knows first hand what it is like to lose your homeland to the followers of Muhammad, and Steve Emerson (author of "American Jihad").

By: Glenn Wall

Glenn Wall — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:11:10 +0000

nyb angli: Yes, there are "arab muslims, asian muslims, far eastern muslims, european muslims and african muslims…" But they all have one thing in common–the Koran/Hadith/Sunna of your Prophet and his successors, as well as1400 years of butchering/enslaving kaffirs from Africa to India. I frankly fail to see what the difference is.

By: Andrea in VA

Andrea in VA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:06:30 +0000

I agree with Matt in NY and am also responding to Raymond in DC: it is absolutely untrue that Muslims have to turn away from the Qur'an if they befriend Christians or Jews...it is comical that you are learning what you know about Islam from your "non-practicing" Muslim friends (where is the common sense in that?), and unfortunate that you wrote such a narrow-minded response to this article. Peace begins from all sides – with everybody dropping their prejudices taught to them by country & family. It is a very hard thing to do...but it can be done.

Andrea

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:06:11 +0000

. . .By the way, Islam means "submssion," not "peace." Algebra was not "invented" by anyone, though the word comes from Arabic. Rather, it evolved over centuries in places as far apart as Greece and China. And to place Osama and Coulter together in a sentence is to broadcast your ignorance and lack of perspective. Thanks.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:02:33 +0000

All of the world's major religions are based on the communication by The Supreme Being to humans many centuries ago. They seem to be targeted to the people of those specific times and places. Anybody that says they communicate with The Supreme Being these days is written off as a lunatic and a heretic. Why did The Supreme Being stop talking to those of us who can write, in modern parlance, the words of wisdom needed to stop such hatred and violence? And why did this Supreme Being give us humans such incredible common sense, only to demand that we disregard such rationalism in favor of blind faith? I am in favor of using religious beliefs to promote peace and understanding, but I cannot get past the destruction most belief systems have wrought.

By: Claudine

Claudine — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:44:32 +0000

There are all these responses: where are other peaceful muslims and why aren't they speaking out?

Instead, I say, appreciate this response and hope that the millions of other non-violent muslims feel safe enough to come out of the woodwork. We all remember 9/11, but do we remember how many people that were of Asian/Middle Eastern descent were beaten, battered and murdered in the name of revenge during this time seven years ago? The Sihk man killed because he looked like he could be muslim? They have reason to fear speaking out because we gave them that fear.

I loved the article and appreciate the honesty of what your life has been like since that horrible day seven years ago. May this give more "Ghandi X"s the courage to also speak up.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:35:53 +0000

Many muslims, particularly those who live in the US, were appalled by the Sept 11 attacks and seek to justify their religion by saying that this is not the way of Islam. However all one has to do is to read the Koran to see that those who follow the Koran believe that violence is justified to meet one's goals, including Dar Al Islam, which is to have Islam take over the non-muslim world. I too noticed the polls that showed that a disturbing number of muslims thought that the attacks were justified.

I applaud this author for trying to stop this thinking, but those muslims who follow the Koran will not be changed because violence is in their scripture.

By: Kokuryu Tenchi

Kokuryu Tenchi — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:35:53 +0000

I applaud you for not losing your way after all that has happened! You are definitely not alone in your hopes for a brighter future! As a person who has always been the subject of racism since a young age, I could have been bitter and angry and accusing the world in general, but I try to love everyone equally, and strive to make the world a better place, little by little. One day, we will reach this dream goal.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:34:13 +0000

Thank you,
Thank you !

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:31:10 +0000

Please let me know when the Million Man Muslim American March Against Terror will start. . .I've been waiting 7 years.