This letter is in response to the articles covering the deadly protest in

Mazar-i- Sharif, Afghanistan which appear to be as a result of the antics of

Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.

Mr. Jones, when did God die and leave you in charge? The name of your

self-proclaimed religious organization is now the poster for hypocrisy.

How about changing the name to Hawk World Outreach Center because that is

exactly what you intended: to aggravate a group of people who are already

seething with anger at their oppression. You, sir, are what is wrong with

religion today; do as I say not as I do. What would Jesus do? Or didn’t

you even consider how Christianity came about?

As for the murderers in Mazar-i- Sharif: how dare you take it upon

yourselves to defend your “sacred” religious beliefs by killing innocent

people who meant you no harm and were there voluntarily. Perhaps it was the

Christian belief in charity that motivated them to serve. Now you have

taken them away from us and discouraged others from serving the needs of the

Afghan people in spite of the differences in faith. What would Muhammad do?

Or didn’t you even consider this as well.

The inciting of hate and the reactionary killing must stop before it is too

late and the world descends into more chaos and confusion on the way to

unraveling completely. Both Jones and the murderers need to request some

sort of forgiveness by extending whatever they can to the families of the

survivors. Follow your true religious precepts; don’t use them for your own

self-aggrandizement.

Bialek graduated from the University of Akron in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and in 1992 with a Master of Arts in Public Administration.