Today was the one of the two great days of celebration for the Muslims. The season of Pilgrimage to Mecca and the celebration of Sacrifice. A day of symbolic sacrifice of animals, in commemoration of the exemplary selfless sacrifice by Prophet Abraham of then his only son Ishmael more than 4000 years ago: a legacy revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

And only yesterday Daniel Pearl was slaughtered mercilessly by a group of the very people who boast to be true followers of Abraham. He was not killed by some fanatics or some Pakistanis. He was killed by Muslims. And come to think of it, all Muslims must share the shame and guilt of this violent and barbaric act committed by a few cowards and deceptive demons living amidst us. All in the name of religion. As the Wall Street Journal said: "His murder is an act of barbarism that makes a mockery of everything Danny's kidnappers claimed to believe in". And only God knows, what their belief is. In the post 9-11 era, names like Mohammed, Omar and Ali have become synonymous with terror, hatred and violence. Yet, we never cease to take pride in our number (more than a billion and growing). Growing, yes: with misguided James Walkers and Richard Reeds. Growing, yes: about whom Prophet Mohammed had once said, " They will be like the froth on the ocean surface". Weightless and drifty.

Nothing we say or do will bring Danny back to his loved ones, nor can lessen the pain of the grieving Pearls. World of journalism is mourning his death. The least we Muslims can do is to come out of the closet and condemn the perpetrators and supporters of this heinous crime. Rest of the world understands this and now Muslims must also comprehend it: this is not a senseless murder of a single person. This is a genocide of everything that is sane and sacred and innocent. Danny’s captors justify his end simply because he was a Jewish American. To everybody else, he was a seeker of truth. So, by definition, I would say, he was a Muslim. And WE killed him.