Acknowledgments
I thank Allah, the Lord of Mohammed, Jesus and Moses (You may call Him by any name; all His names are beautiful: Qur’an) for giving me the humility, courage and ability to rise above all prejudices and reach out to the fellow Americans at the moment of tragedy of September the 11th, 2001. I never dreamed that a few words floating out of my heart with a solemn yearning to bring comfort in a very small and imperceptible way to a few I knew, would reach across the nation and touch so many people: people I never knew before. In the frenzy of the few hours after the attack of 9-11, it seemed like everyone in the country, including myself, was hungrily seeking some form of courage, solace, support, shelter and companionship. I received hundreds of responses from so many people reflecting one or more of these sentiments. I believe that each response formed a link of the chain that kept us from breaking lose and from getting lost in the quicksand of confusion and fury and despair.
I wish to thank everyone who responded to my note so warmly and passionately. To me, they are not mere words: they are the soul of America – vibrant, alive and embracing. Even after 10 weeks of the event, when I read them today, they make my heart tremble and my eyes moist. But they also lift my spirit. They tell me that our differences – no matter how grand we tend to make them at times – are only skin deep. When tragedies like 9-11 occur, the barriers of race, religion and ethnicity become alien. We all shed the same tears – pure, glistening, crystalline pearls and our hearts bled the same crimson red as of those 2800 and some who never knew why? I want you all to know that every single word of yours brought great comfort to me as well. Many even called and thanked me for writing this and many more offered protection in their homes lest I should be harmed in the passion of rage. I thank you all.
Since the attack I have strengthened my friendship with people I knew. And I made a large number of new friends– people I didn’t even know existed. Bill Harvey is one of them. He is THE CATALYST in bringing this website into being. I haven’t seen him nor spoken to him (in the conventional way) yet, but it seems I have known him forever and for some reason we seem to end up speaking the same thing through our minds. Thanks, Bill. For everything: for your support, for your affection and for your belief.
As you browse through these pages containing a few of those letters, you will see for yourself that pen has never been mightier, never been more angelic and never been more comforting! Please reward us with your comments and your own thoughts. Please say a silent prayer for those innocents who perished in the attacks and one for the rest of the surviving humanity to live in peace!
--Abdul-Majeed
