Dear Mr. Bin Laden,

     Our newspapers are reporting the suspicion that you were involved with the attack on the World Trade Center on Tuesday.  However, I don't wish to jump to any conclusions.  If this is not the case, if you happen to know who was responsible, I would appreciate it if, on my behalf, you might be able to pass this letter on to them. 
     I would like to begin by expressing my heartfelt sympathy on the loss of your trusted friends and colleagues who died in the tragic plane crashes.  When I heard about the event on the news, it made my cry, as much for them as for the Americans who have died, as much for the life which they must have lived as for their death.  I can only believe that they must have suffered tremendously and been witness to much suffering to have come to place so little value on human life.  I have written a letter to our President requesting that we continue to look for peaceful solutions to world dilemmas, and that no violent retaliation be taken.
    I have always felt and will continue to feel sympathy for the Arab people, but I must also express my belief that this attack went against the will of God.  It went far to convince me that all violence for any reason is wrong, whether it be American and Israeli violence against Arabs or the other way around or all the other forms of cruelty which humans practice on each other.  Being a man of God, I can not believe that your intentions are not of the most virtuous.  Given this, I wish to share with you the beliefs of my own church, that is the Society of Friends, and hope that they will speak to you despite the differences in our cultural background.  
     Like you, we hold that true believers ought to be willing to die for God and in defense of their beliefs, but we also believe that the doing of violence is always wrong.  We defend our beliefs by continuing to practice them and share them and seeking to teach by our example of peace and love, even in the face of opposition.  We would rather be killed for our beliefs than kill for them, and many Friends throughout our history have given their lives and died nobly.  We continue to honor their sacrifice. 
     I offer you and all those anywhere in the world who were made joyous by the attack on the World Trade Centers my prayers, my forgiveness, and my hope that we shall meet in heaven, where we will all be brothers and sisters paying homage to the same God.

Return to Idea Bank