To the Editors of the Crimson:

I would like to draw your attention to the publication of Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. This insidious work is an insult to Muslims, but even more, it is a cruel attack on Islam which will feed on the misunderstanding and hatred of Muslims, which already exists due largely to ignorance and the misconstruing of facts regarding Islam.

America is no longer a nation of one religion, and Americans cannot afford to view it as such. Islam has been called the second largest religion in America, and the fastest growing. There are five million Muslim Americans, with one million being converts to Islam. As individuals, we are contributing members of this society, and our hope is to become more involved in the issues which confront all of us: poverty, abuse, break-up of families and communities, prejudice, crime, and the lack of goodwill, respect, and trust between people.

Islam is a way of life, which nurtures and enhances the natural propensity within each individual to do good. We seek guidance for this pathway in the Qur'an, and in the example of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). For Muslims, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the ideal example of a human being; for in him is the highest manifestation of all the good qualities which are within each person.

Regardless of race, nationality, gender, or color, there exists within each of us the natural tendency to care, to offer assistance, to depend on others, to respect the dignity of others, to be kind, and to give of ourselves. And yet, as a society, we collectively emphasize the suppression of these impulses which have always been within us. Until, sadly enough, we either become numb to our own humanity and to the reality around us; or we refuse to acknowledge the need to continually reexamine ourselves in order to improve from within. Each of us has the choice to stop, reflect, and look within. And yet, we seem to throw this most precious choice away. In an academic environment where we tend towards the abstract, and we try to externalize and analyze, we often forget that real knowledge is incomplete without the knowledge of one's self.

The choice is yours. Sheema Khan   Resident Tutor Lowell House