An open letter to terrorists and those
who harbor and support you.
From an American Grandfather

I am told by the leaders of my government that you are
intelligent people. In light of your actions, I am having
growing difficulty believing that. At the very least, it has
become increasingly obvious that you lack a fundamental
comprehension of my psychology as an American.

I hear on our news broadcasts that your rage is fueled by my
support of Israel. It has never been about nationality or
religious faith never about Jew vs. Arab. I thought you
would finally have understood that when I sent my children
into harm's way in order to protect the innocent citizens of
Arab Kuwait from the savage wolf who would devour them for
his own gain. It has everything to do with the lessons
taught to me by my father - and his before him for many
generations before the white man came to this land we call
America.

I have a vivid memory of coming home, as a boy of about nine
years of age, and telling my father of feeling helpless
horror as I watched the neighborhood bully unmercifully
torment a boy even smaller than myself. My father reflected
for a long moment, then quietly inquired of me as to what I
had done about it. I said that I had watched until it was
over and had then come home.

The look in his eyes penetrated me to my core for he had
never looked at me in that way before. He said that he was
deeply ashamed of me and he sent me to my room with
instructions to think about what had happened. It seemed
hours before he came to my door. He sat beside me on my bed,
and, for a painfully long while, he said nothing. When
finally he spoke, he explained, "There will always be among
us dishonorable men who are devoid of humanity and
compassion. They are but naked animals and an empty shell of
what truly is a man. They attempt to fill their emptiness by
the exercise of power over others, thinking that it makes
them whole men. Often they are enraged that they do not even
understand their own emptiness, what it is that they lack.

When these men are also cowards, they disguise themselves as
sheep among the flock and attack from the shadows. This is
the vilest form of sub-human behavior for even animals
attack openly when they must attack.

When humanity and integrity are present in a man, he
expresses them as compassion. When compassion and strength
achieve perfect balance within a man, they manifest as
wisdom. The compassionate man feels the pain of others. The
wise man protects others from pain. For, if you watch and do
nothing to protect others, who will come to your aid when
you alone remain and the bully comes for you?

Some things are far more important than your personal safety
and freedom from pain. If ever again you see someone being
hurt, protect him, even if you are certain to be injured in
the process. Then I will know that I have truly raised a
man."

Anyone who understands the impact of this lesson - and how
deeply it runs in the man I have become, will understand my
unflinching willingness to sacrifice my children in defense
of Arab and Jew alike when they are threatened by the
bullies and cowards of the world. And please do not insult
my intelligence with claims of Jewish treatment of
Palestinians. I am old enough to retain vivid memories of
1948.

I remember the excitement of the Jews over the prospect of
governing "with" them. Their reaction, and that of their
neighbors, was to attempt' to finish what the Nazis could
not -Repeatedly

Intelligent men? I, for one, am stunned by the monumental
stupidity of your arrogance. Did you actually think that
only Americans would occupy the World Trade Center? You have
but fired the first pitiful salvo of World War III for the
entire world is now preparing to come after you, your host,
your financiers and your supporters. And please, do not
listen to what I say. You would do far better to watch the
sky.

I must say that I owe you a profound debt of gratitude. Not
for what you have done or what you have unleashed upon the
world, but for what you have accomplished. For not one
among us could have accomplished it. On Monday, September
10, 2001, we were a divisive, apathetic nation. Our young
people had nothing by which to identify with our history or
heritage; our people were divided by factions of religion
and skin color; our government was polarized and paralyzed
by political party affiliation, able to agree upon nothing;
the military had difficulty obtaining volunteers and most of
us simply changed TV channels in response to Red Cross pleas
for blood donations.

Your actions have changed all of that in a way that has
occurred only twice before in the history of this nation -
once in 1776 and again on December 7, 1941. The worst in the
worst of Allah's children has brought out the best in the
best of Allah's children and, for this, I thank you. Since
your cowardly act, Muslim, Jew, Christian, black, white,
yellow and brown have stood shoulder to shoulder for hours
in the hot sun to donate blood for the injured. Our
government has suddenly become totally united in its
purpose. Our military is having difficulty handling the
flood of volunteers from among our young people. Our flag
makers report that there is no way humanly possible that
they can keep up with the demand - shipments are sold out
within minutes. You have accomplished a miracle that only
God could have anticipated.

And, it would seem, the hand of God was present even in the
date that you selected for your attack, for you could not
have chosen a date more in keeping with a reawakening of
American pride and purpose. There is in America a nationwide
system for seeking help in times of emergency. Every
American knows that, when threatened, he can pick up any
telephone and dial 911 and help is immediately on the way to
assist and protect him. By selecting September, (our 9th
month), 11, 2001 to exhibit your cowardice, you unwittingly
placed a 911 call that has brought all of America together
in a way that brings tears of joy and pride to my eyes. No
longer is our battle cry, "Remember Pearl Harbor!" Thanks to you and your kind it will now and forevermore be, "Remember
911!" whenever the innocents of any nation find themselves
threatened by cowards with guns.

I do not, for a moment, deny that you hurt me. Far too many
parents and children now go to bed wondering where their
loved ones are. And, yes, I am momentarily reeling. But it
is from the sudden realization that I share the planet with
anyone capable of such an atrocity against the humanity of
so many nations.

In his Inaugural Address in Washington, D.C. on January 20,
1961, President John F. Kennedy said, "Let every nation
know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay
any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the
success of liberty." He was talking about the liberty of
all men, of all faiths, of all nations.

You need to understand that the truth of that statement is
the very fabric of who and what I am. I wish neither to rule
nor to inflict injury upon the innocents of any nation. I am
the lion who sleeps with God's lambs to protect them from
ravenous wolves that would devour them. Your 911 call has
awakened the lion and now I hunger for the flesh of wolves.

In closing let me state, Muhammad taught that Allah is a God
of love - yet you have the unmitigated gall to bastardize
Islam to suit your own personal, unholy agenda. Who now is the infidel?

Sincerely,
The Reverend Charles Stanley