I’m Muslim and I’m Charlie

[King_David]

I’ve never been a fan of Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical newspaper that published a series of satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, but I switched my position during my brief visit to the Voice of America (VOA) building in Washington, D.C., on January 7, 2015.

I left New York for D.C. at 5:00 a.m., along with my son, Soborno Isaac, a two-year-old chemistry genius. He was scheduled to be interviewed by VOA at 11:00 a.m., and we arrived in the capital some 30 minutes late. My heart was racing as I parked my car in front of the Smithsonian Museum.

Wondering if Sabrina Dona would still be waiting for us, I ran toward the VOA elevator, carrying my son. The security officers stopped us and asked us to go through the metal detector. As we were complying, I noticed that many of them were staring at us. Then, when they were searching little Soborno’s body, I realized that something wrong.

My eyes turned to a TV monitor on the wall adjacent to the metal detector. I saw the two terrorist brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, armed with AK-47s, forcing their way into the Charlie Hebdo building. I had seen a similar incident on December 16, when seven terrorists entered a Pakistan Army School and killed over 130 school children. My whole body quivered and my heart dropped; I hoped with all my heart that this time, the perpetrators were not Muslims this time. After all, I am a Muslim. However, not 10 seconds later, I heard “Allahu Akbar,” and my heart broke into a million pieces. The security person who was still searching little Soborno Isaac looked at me and asked, “What does that mean?” I did not reply. I was speechless.



http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Im-Muslim-and-Im-Charlie-387768

[genwah]

1. Dude, I get you. every time I see "Asian" in a headline about crime

I'm goin' "Please, please don't let him/her be Chinese". Becaues then the white people, who are my cstomers, will ask...well, you know...