As I was growing up some 20-30 years past WWII in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), its ghosts were all around. Kids from my neighborhood would still blow up grenades, and other old and unused ammunition we’d find in the ground, sometimes with deadly consequences. Everyone had family stories about the war, and every family has lost someone to that war. My very own grandma had to kill her second child, who was born during a bombing, when Leningrad was under siege. Everyone was starving then, she had no milk, and nothing to feed her baby with. So one day, as the baby lay down next to her, crying, she put pillow to his face. Then she sent my 10 yr old father to fetch people to help to bury his brother. She went to her grave still crying about that…
So I was growing up certain that humanity would never have another terrible war like this one.
Well, I’m no longer so certain of our maturity.
It appears, that during the last 50 years of the past century, 2 worlds were growing: the Western and Eastern (Muslim). Western world has been prospering and fostering tolerance and acceptance. Muslim world was getting riches too, but the great majority of it still lived in poverty, and it grew dark, intolerant, jealous and hateful. So these 2 worlds grew apart, and then, one day, the Muslim world attacked the Western world.
It was in 1993, and I just happened to be at the WTC shopping mall where I bought a skiing bag 15 minutes before the bombing, as I was planning to go skiing with my friends that Friday.
After seing all those wounded, and, perhaps, some dead, I quit my job that day, and went skiing, determined to enjoy my every moment on earth.
But because only 6 people died, and the WTC kept on standing, no one, including me, paid attention to the growing Muslim menace.
Sure, I’ve noticed that all wars around me seemed to be involving muslims, and I was wondering to myself – what is it about that religion that makes people so blood thirsty…
But then, in 1997, I happened to find myself in Pakistan, living for 4 days with a fundamental Muslim family.
This was a very good, happy family. The wife and the mother of 4 children was obviously adored, respected and cherished. The 3 girls, ages 10, 15 and 17, were well taken care of, studying in school and planning to go to college (they all wanted to be doctors). All 4 women in the family laughed a lot and easily – a good sign of happy people. It was their choice to cover themselves in black burka, when they were heading out. They could not go outside their home past 6 pm, if unaccompanied by a male relative, but even that somehow turned out to be a sign of being cherished and protected.
When I was comparing my free western life to theirs, I could feel a pang of jealousy: neither me nor any other western woman I knew were as cherished, revered and protected. But then it is another topic altogether.
I just wanted to say that I was enamored by Pakistani people I’ve encountered there: they were so open, so hospitable, so generous…
And then, 9/11 happened.
This time I was about 14 blocks away. But I could still see the II WTC falling in the cloud of yellowish white dust.
As I was walking home all the way to the Northern tip of Manhattan (no one could get a ride that day), I was hating all Muslims and Arabs like I never hated anyone before. My heart was churning blackness.
But at about 55th St., a car stopped by me and a guy asked me if I need a ride. I gladly accepted (I had another 130+ blocks to go).
My driver just happened to be a Pakistani. I immediately thanked God for this “coincidence”, as I knew it was a reminder not to hate the whole nation or religion.
Of course, when I got home, the Palestinian family who lived across the hall from me was having a party, ordering pizza, smoking and dancing right there in the hallway….
Still I was sad, when nice Afghani people closed their fast food joint across the street that day, and never re-opened, being afraid of us, people waiving American flags.
And that’s how the Great War of East and West really began in earnest. West has attacked 3 Eastern countries since then, and one was destroyed completely. But because that country was completely innocent of all attacks on the West, the West has destroyed its reputation and further damaged its already wounded economy.
But now the Muslims have decided to exploit the West’s famous tolerance and build a mosque 2 blocks away from the ghosts of the 2 towers they have destroyed.
Of course, these are not the same Muslims that destroyed the Towers. Those are dead. These other Muslims who want to build the mosque may very well be very nice people (like those who hosted me in Pakistan).
But now we know that we are at war. And I know that there are Muslims like my Palestinian neighbors who partied on 9/11. Those kind of Muslims would look at this mosque like their flag raised above the graves of the enemy. That would hurt. A lot.
And I don’t think that we, the Western world, would lose whatever is left of our tolerance (let’s face it, we don’t have much left – but that’s another topic), if we ask those Muslims angling for the mosque to build it 20+ blocks away.
Just, please, don’t keep reminding us at the grave of 3,000 people about those who murdered them one sunny beautiful day 9 years ago….