As a Pakistani, this was a day of great tragedy and sorrow. I woke up to the news of the attack, and my heart fell as I switched on the television. It was chaotically painful. I was not alone, Pakistanis all over the world were just as dumbfounded, just as sorrowful as I was. To us, it seemed that the children who were being killed were ours, that the future of Pakistan was dying. To us, it felt as if our children, our brothers and sisters were being murdered in front of our eyes. There are no words to describe what happened in Peshawar, there are no words to portray our sorrow, our pain. All I can say is that there are some events which unite people; sometimes these events are pleasant, sometimes they are tragic. The December 16th attack was one of the tragic events that united Pakistan in standing together against this barbaric act, in standing together with our children.
Here begins my letter to the world:
The terrorists who committed this inhuman act today are not Muslims. The terrorists who are killing in Syria, in Afghanistan, in a lot of other countries are also not Muslims. They do not represent Islam, and they most certainly do not follow it. Islam is a religion of peace, it condemns the killing of any innocents whether they be Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu or of any other religion. Islam also does not allow the killing of the elderly, women and children. A verse in the the Quran states that whoever kills a single human being, it will be as if they are killing all of mankind, and whoever saves a human, it will be as though they are saving all of mankind.
Dear World, the extremist organisations such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban and many more have distorted the teachings of Islam to fit their own propaganda. They are using my religion, the same religion of 1.6 billion Muslims around the world to conduct inhuman and unjust acts. The 1.6 billion Muslims ask only one thing of you: please do not believe the lies the terrorists are feeding you. Please do not hate us because we are Muslim; because we are from a Muslim country, because our religion is different to the one you follow. Please do not judge all Muslims simply because a group of people who say they are Muslim are killing innocents everyday. We, like you do not want these killings to continue, we like you want to defeat these extremists who are ruining lives all around the world.
Dear World, a Muslim conducts their lives just as you do. We wake up, go to school or work, we come back home, spend time with our family and then sleep. Yes, during the day we do pray five times a day, we read the Quran, some of us wear the hijab, some of us wear religious attire. But what I want to ask is that, don't Jews or Christians indulge in their religious practices? Why then, are we targeted, why is every terrorist attack blamed on us, why are we called terrorists wherever we go? I ask you: how can a small group of violent people represent the Muslims all around the world?
Dear World, we want peace, we want to help others. We donate to charities, we help orphans, we help the disabled, we help the injured, we are just as humanitarian as people from the other faiths . Yes, there are immoral people who follow the same religion as us, but there are followers of other religions who also lack morality. If they can be ignored whilst the pious are highlighted, then why can't the same be done for us?
In light of the attack in Peshawar and the siege in Sydney, I would like to tell the world one thing. Muslims do not want this, we do not want the destruction of innocent lives. All we want is peace. Dear World, peace can be achieved if we unite against this threat, this menace which can ruin us all. We saw this unity in Sydney and India, who stood up alongside Muslims, who see us as terrorized rather than terrorist, who stand united with us against the brutal terrorists. Dear Sydney and India, you restored our faith in humanity on two days where we had lost that faith. Thank you for protecting us Sydney, thank you for standing with us India. Those who defended Muslims in Australia with the #IllRideWithYou have shown us that we are not alone, that the world stands united against these wrongdoers, and that we do not need to be afraid of practicing Islam because there are many out there who will always protect us. Those in India, who treated Pakistan's greatest tragedy as their own with the #IndiaWithPakistan have warmed our weeping hearts, as we saw two rival countries become one when faced with the great sorrow of 132 children being killed. For that, India and Sydney I would like to thank you on behalf of the Muslims worldwide. You have shown us that we are not alone and even when it may seem that all is lost, there is always a ray of hope. I thank you for your support; you have restored my faith in humanity on two very dark days, you have shown us that we are united to attain a better future. In return, I promise that I will stand with you, just as you stood with us. And to the rest of the world, I hope you may stand with us too, because after all unity is all we need.
In light of the attack in Peshawar and the siege in Sydney, I would like to tell the world one thing. Muslims do not want this, we do not want the destruction of innocent lives. All we want is peace. Dear World, peace can be achieved if we unite against this threat, this menace which can ruin us all. We saw this unity in Sydney and India, who stood up alongside Muslims, who see us as terrorized rather than terrorist, who stand united with us against the brutal terrorists. Dear Sydney and India, you restored our faith in humanity on two days where we had lost that faith. Thank you for protecting us Sydney, thank you for standing with us India. Those who defended Muslims in Australia with the #IllRideWithYou have shown us that we are not alone, that the world stands united against these wrongdoers, and that we do not need to be afraid of practicing Islam because there are many out there who will always protect us. Those in India, who treated Pakistan's greatest tragedy as their own with the #IndiaWithPakistan have warmed our weeping hearts, as we saw two rival countries become one when faced with the great sorrow of 132 children being killed. For that, India and Sydney I would like to thank you on behalf of the Muslims worldwide. You have shown us that we are not alone and even when it may seem that all is lost, there is always a ray of hope. I thank you for your support; you have restored my faith in humanity on two very dark days, you have shown us that we are united to attain a better future. In return, I promise that I will stand with you, just as you stood with us. And to the rest of the world, I hope you may stand with us too, because after all unity is all we need.
