Hey guys,
For those of us who can remember it, 9/11 will always be a day that we will honor and remember the soldiers who died for us. For me, I was six years old, but I still remember being in Kindergarten and the secretary came over the loud speaker to tell us all what just happened. I have no idea HOW the teacher managed to keep a classroom full of 5 and 6 year olds from having a full-on meltdown, but she did.
10 years later, I had the privilege and the HONOR to see where the twin towers stood, and the flame that burns in honor of those who died on that horrible day. We saw a memorial of each and every persons name written in stone of those who sacrificed their lives for the safety and protection of others. It really opened my heart and my mind and made me aware of the great, GREAT cost our country has paid to have the freedom we have today. So, although today is not a happy day, I am happy to be living in a country that has so much freedom. Unfortunately, the same day I went and saw the memorial, was also the first time I heard comments of hate towards the Muslims.
As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors. In order to do that, we must first KNOW our neighbors and know what they believe. Sadly when many of us hear the word Muslim, Islamic, or extremist, we think of 9/11. I have always found that interesting because we as Americans have also participated in our own extremist group, the KKK. I know, this may seem incredibly hurtful and insulting, but bear with me. Most of you reading this were not alive during the time that the KKK were around, but for those of you that did, did you stand against it? Did you ask your friends and family why this was ok? Did you even think what they were doing was wrong? I am guessing that most of you would answer no to these questions. I'm not saying that you YOURSELF participated in it, but as a country, we DID take part in this awful thing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that so many people react negatively when they hear the word muslim or Islamic or extremist because they relate it to 9/11, but before judging them, think to yourself, are you really that much better than they are? Obviously, we don't all go around crashing planes into other nations buildings, but if you look at the underlying meaning for WHY this happened in the first place, we really are NOT any better then they are. So, why did these extremists do this? They did it because they had a strong hatred for Americans. So, we in turn, now have a strong hatred towards them. Think about it, yes, 9/11 was a tragic and terrible thing that killed hundreds maybe even thousands of people, but how many MORE Iraquis and Muslims did we kill in the war that followed 9/11?
It upsets me SO much when I hear people make hateful comments about Muslims, especially if they're Christians. I am blessed to have the classical education background, so I have studied many world religions in depth, and Muslim culture is one of them. Not only does the Muslim religion stress peace, but their government does their best to actually ENFORCE peace. Obviously, the particular event of 9/11 did not exhibit their ability to do that, but those pilots and hijackers on the planes that day were considered extremists. According to Dictionary.com, the word Extremist is defined as, "a person who goes to EXTREMES, especially in political matters, or a supporter or advocate of extreme doctrines or practices." Because even we Americans cannot deny that these men were in fact extremists, it is unfair and a sign of our lack of religious knowledge to assume that all Muslims are like this. Muslims do their best to retain a PEACEFUL government, when in the HECK have we done that? When we're not out on the battlefield fighting, there is lying and deception within our own government, with all of this in mind, who are WE to judge? I know we have all seen a person of color on the streets and passed judgment on them, even if it WAS in our minds. I know that we as Americans do not want to tolerate any Muslims, but think about it, we are judging them, because of what they did to us, because they were judging us...so we are essentially doing the same thing. Imagine if, by some miracle, one of those extremists converted to Christianity, do you REALLY think he is less likely to get into Heaven because he took part in 9/11? Do you REALLY think that God would just be like, "Oh, you're one of the suicide bombers, you have to go to Hell..."? Because I certainly don't! What I'm trying to say is that Muslims are PEOPLE, they are human just like me, and just like you. They did this terrible thing because they hated us, just like we now hate them, so we have NO right to judge them, NONE AT ALL because when it comes down to it, ALL Christians will enter the kingdom of God, regardless of whether they grew up Muslim, Islamic, Quaker, Hindu, or a freaking Polar Bear, God loves us all, and we should too! Rant. Over.
<3 Always,
Rose
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