A Letter From Len Pena to Dr. Assadi  

Dear Dr Assar  

I did read the IF condition /preceding the statement you made that you would //kill as many innocent Americans as I can, be it with chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons or through suicide bombing".  

If indeed an American soldier killed your mother, son, or other loved ones, I would understand perfectly the rage within you and the desire for revenge.  But as you said, it is a hypothetical situation.  

But allow me to tell you a real-life experience.  My grandfather, two uncles and an aunt were killed by a Muslim.  They were hacked to death and beheaded.  As a human being who has been wronged, I can certainly feel the desire to avenge their deaths.  But I cannot even think of killing innocent Muslims.  That's why it concerns me that a highly educated Muslim like you could even think of killing innocent Americans.  If you can think this way, with all your learning, then I wonder how an uneducated Muslim would think when faced with the situation my family went through?  

Perhaps your point is that Palestinians and Muslims have been collectively oppressed and that gives justification to killing their oppressors.  I don't know how many Palestinians have been killed since the creation of the state of Israel .  Too many have died no doubt.  And by the way, I am no great supporter of Israel .  But does it justify killing innocent Israelis in shopping malls and buses?  When the Americans took over the Philippines just before the turn of the century, it is estimated that close to 800,000 Filipinos were killed.  Yet I don't know of a single incident where Filipinos killed American teachers, civil servants, their children, etc. who were certainly easy targets.  The Jews were nearly exterminated during WWII, but they did not resort to killing "innocent" German non-combatants.  

Yes - I was very distressed to read your words.  I was hoping that the Muslim intelligentsia like you would not think the same way as people like Osama bin Laden.  Your words are so full of hate and it has now made me fear Muslims.  If that was indeed your objective, you have succeeded.  

I am a Christian and was taught from a very early age to love my enemies.  It probably sounds foolish and idiotic to you.  All I can say now is that I will pray that this hate that animates you leaves your heart.  

God bless you.  

Len