Profound Letter from the heart written by an American Pilot

novaqt

Senior
Aug 20, 2002
488
0
The following letter, written by an American Airlines pilot, will be read on radio this coming Sunday on Political Firestorm with Rob Arnold on WMET 1160AM 10-11am. You can tune in online at www.wmet1160.com.


PROFILING FROM A PILOT'S POINT OF VIEW...............WHAT A LETTER!!!!

This is the most profound, most insightful message to Muslims I've seen. I think it should be read on Fox, sent to the President, and forwarded to any other form of media to express what so many of us feel toward the Muslims!

The paper stated today that some Muslim doctor is saying we are profiling him because he has been checked three times while getting on an airplane.

(A Letter From An American Airlines Pilot) This well spoken man, who is a pilot with American Airlines, says what is in his heart beautifully....read, absorb and pass on....it's time to get answers from those who claim their terrorist members do not represent them..why are their leaders not LOUDLY AND FIERCELY AND CONTINUOUSLY condemning their visible murderous brethren.

YOU WORRY ME!
By American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco

"I've been trying to say this since 9-11 but you worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that I love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country. But you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me.

I notice you because I can't help it anymore. People from your homelands, professing to be Muslims, have been attacking and killing my fellow citizens and our friends for more than 20 years now. I don't fully understand their grievances and hate but I know that nothing can justify the inhumanity of their attacks.

On September 11, nineteen ARAB-MUSLIMS hijacked four jetliners in my country. They cut the throats of women in front of children and brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of those planes and crashed them into buildings killing thousands of proud fathers, loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends, favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers.

The Palestinians Celebrated, The Iraqis were overjoyed as was most of the Arab world. So I notice you now. I don't want to be worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage and hate and prejudice that has destroyed the soul of these terrorists. But I need your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell the difference between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist.

How do I differentiate between the true Arab/Muslim-Americans and the Arab/Muslims in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children? The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of its religions, with ALL of its different citizens, with all of its faults. It is time for every Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.

I want to know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know whether or not you love America . Do you pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car? Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation, that He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah with destroy it in one of your "Jihads"? Are you thankful for the freedom that only this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by paying the ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America ? If this is your commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it.

Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect the United States of America. Please, no more benign overtures of regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not interested in any more sympathy. I am only interested in action. What will you do for America - our great country -- at this time of crisis, at this time of war?

I want to see Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting "Allah Bless America " I want to see young Arab/Muslim men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money, time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this nation as a whole. The FBI has a list of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people live and socialize in Muslim communities. You know them. You know where they are. Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals.

The very few Arab/Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making sure that the United States proves who was responsible before taking action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they did with supporting our country and denouncing "leaders" like Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat.


If the true teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it up. What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good and pure and true when your "leaders" are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and intolerance?

It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if large numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated to us over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members (some as young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam.

Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because our women proudly show their faces in public rather than cover up like a shameful whore? Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because we drink wine with dinner, or celebrate Christmas? Do you and you fellow Muslims hate us because we have befriended Israel , the ONLY FRIENDLY CIVILIZED SOCIETY in the Muslim/Arab area, that thinks and acts like most Americans.

And if you and your fellow Muslims hate us, then why in the world are you even here? Are you here to take our money? Are you here to undermine our peace and stability? Are you here to destroy us? If so, I want you to leave. I want you to go back to your desert sandpit where women are treated like rats and dogs. I want you to take your religion, your friends, and your family back to your Islamic extremists, and STAY THERE! We will NEVER give in to your influence, your retarded mentality, your twisted, violent, intolerant religion.


We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab/Muslim in this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your family. I am pleading with you to let me know. I want you here as my brother , my neighbor, my friend, as a fellow American. But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding your allegiance and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand." "Until then .. you worry me"

LET'S COVER THE COUNTRY WITH THIS ONE! Print and send to our political leaders, at every level. If they need proof of our rising concerns, to address the situation more aggressively....this should at least be sent to them all!
 
The following letter, written by an American Airlines pilot, will be read on radio this coming Sunday on Political Firestorm with Rob Arnold on WMET 1160AM 10-11am. You can tune in online at www.wmet1160.com.
PROFILING FROM A PILOT'S POINT OF VIEW...............WHAT A LETTER!!!!.....

.... they need proof of our rising concerns, to address the situation more aggressively....this should at least be sent to them all!



MOD NOTE--PLEASE refrain from quoting entire lengthy posts in your responses! Thank you.

Well, this individual certainly writes from the heart. The author of the letter asks many questions that can be answered by simply educating oneself on the history that has led us to where we are today. Believe me, I am in no way defending the murderous attacks of 9-11, but I certainly understand where the hatred comes from. We Americans will never wrap our brains around this nightmare as long as we limit our world view to Fox, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times. To think the muslim extremists hate us because we drink wine or our women show their faces is a simplistic and reductive premise (has the author ever been to Morocco or Tunisia?!?). The fact that the US has befriended Israel unconditionally because it is, as the letter states, "the ONLY FRIENDLY CIVILIZED SOCIETY in the Muslim/Arab area, that thinks and acts like most Americans" gets closer to the matter. Lest we think we are innocent victims, just try to understand for one minute how the Palestinians feel about the wall that Israel has built which extends WELL into Palestinian territory. This wall is not built on Israeli soil, it is built on Palestinian land, separating families and communities. The US stands by Israel and allows such egregious violations to take place uncontested. It is this type of political aggression and oppression that fuels the fire of the radicalist discourse and facilitates the recruitment of followers to their cause.


The explanations are out there...among the important thinkers from both sides who have contributed to our understanding of the dynamics fueling the hate-filled rhetoric you will find, among others, Edward Said, Jimmy Carter, Tahar Ben Jalloun, Azouz Begag, Elias Sanbar, etc. If you have never read interviews or books by these individuals, you should do so. To ignore intelligent, factual, and reasoned analyses from the both sides is to do yourself a disservice. History shows both sides, christian and muslum / occidental and oriental, have shared and continue to share the blame for the ongoing bloodshed and hate-filled rhetoric.

Before anyone attacks me for what I am saying, please read carefully whatI have written. I am in no way advocating the attacks or the radical islamist call to arms. I am merely saying that this mess did not arise from a vacuum. If we hope to stanch the growth of this type of rhetoric, we must understand the grievances...real or imagined...that fuel it. I do agree with the author of the letter that our best hope lies within the muslim communities, although a serious review of our foreign policy must be the other half of the equation.

Peace,
Art Tang
IMA
 
It showed up on the internet 4 years ago. Snopes.com can't verify it. It keeps popping up as a new discovery every few months. I suspect it is false because if true, CAIR would accept nothing less than having the Captain drawn and quartered publicly.
 
Snopes doesn't, but TruthOrFiction did confirm it. Or at least they say they did:

The Truth
The facts about this commentary are still a little murky, but there does seem to be a confirmed source for it. Most versions say it is a commentary written by Captain Maniscalco. Others say he gave it as a speech for the annual Kahane Memorial dinner sponsored by the followers of the late Rabbie Meir Kahane in Jerusalem in January, 2002. We have confirmed with the Kahane movement that Captian Maniscalco did appear at their banquet in January but in New York, not Jerusalem. We've also found, however, the "You Worry Me" comments on a website that serves some Maryland counties and attributed to a different person. We're checking that out.

There are also a number of posts on the forums at Kahane.org which seem to support the idea that he did speak and that it was posted as an Op-Ed piece in either their publication or website.

Art, it's easy to blame US foreign policy for why the Muslims hate America, but they're also attacking people (mainly Christians) in other countries including Indonesia, France, and Nigeria, so how do you explain that?

You can go ahead and blame the US and Israel for how they've chosen to stand up to the fundamentalists, but "we" didn't ask for this war. As I see it, this war to promote Islam started well before Jimmy "give peace a chance" Carter was voted out of office.
 
As I see it, this war to promote Islam started well before Jimmy "give peace a chance" Carter was voted out of office.


It started almost two millennia ago. Islam was hacking and slashing their way into France until 744. Convert or die. Later Vienna, even. Now, they are infiltrating Christian countries by massive immigration and exponential birth rates. The way they are going, they could forgo violence and just let nature take its course.

As Brook Benton sang, It's Just A Matter of Time.
 
Snopes doesn't, but TruthOrFiction did confirm it. Or at least they say they did:
There are also a number of posts on the forums at Kahane.org which seem to support the idea that he did speak and that it was posted as an Op-Ed piece in either their publication or website.

Art, it's easy to blame US foreign policy for why the Muslims hate America, but they're also attacking people (mainly Christians) in other countries including Indonesia, France, and Nigeria, so how do you explain that?

You can go ahead and blame the US and Israel for how they've chosen to stand up to the fundamentalists, but "we" didn't ask for this war. As I see it, this war to promote Islam started well before Jimmy "give peace a chance" Carter was voted out of office.
I do not we believe we asked for this either, but I do believe there are historic explanations that can shed light on why these extremists are able to recruit and spread hatred to so many places. As for your question about why they attack christians in places such as France, well, one need only go back to 1830 and trace to the present the horrific legacy of colonialism. I have lived in France and I love the country, but its history (along with Belgium, England, Portugal, etc.) of colonizing is a very dark spot on the nation's soul. Discrimination against arabs is still par for the course in France, whether it be for a job interview or merely gaining entrance into a nightclub. As for other areas of the world, you cannot seriously believe their is no reason for muslims to protest in places like China (Xinjiang) and Russia (Chechnya).

Again, I am not defending the terrorists, but it is absolutely crucial to understand the historical dynamics at play if we hope to get to the root of the conflict. Look, I am not at all blaming US foreign policy; what I am saying is that it cannot be overlooked as an important facet of the problem. For Americans to scratch their heads and ask "Why do they hate us" is disingenuous at best. On CNN today, the polls state that the majority of Iraqis perceive us as occupiers. Think about it.

Peace,
Art Tang
 
It started almost two millennia ago. Islam was hacking and slashing their way into France until 744. Convert or die. Later Vienna, even. Now, they are infiltrating Christian countries by massive immigration and exponential birth rates. The way they are going, they could forgo violence and just let nature take its course.

As Brook Benton sang, It's Just A Matter of Time.
Yes, and western Europe retaliated with a bloody series of crusades, and the muslims retaliated with...and on and on it goes. "Convert or die" could also be said to be the mantra of the good christians who colonized the new world, or of the catholics who slaughtered the protestants throughout the XVIth century. As for the "massive immigration" you refer to, there is no mystery as to how and why there are such large numbers of arabs and turks in, say, France and Germany. They were BROUGHT there by the governments for cheap labor. Today, the second largest ethnic group in France is comprised of arabs, and if the French don't like it, they only have themselves to blame.

Peace,
Art Tang
IMA
 
Yes, and western Europe retaliated with a bloody series of crusades, and the muslims retaliated with...and on and on it goes. "Convert or die" could also be said to be the mantra of the good christians who colonized the new world, or of the catholics who slaughtered the protestants throughout the XVIth century.

Quite true. Every group has some history that they need to forget and rise above.
 
Art Tang...Wretched Wrench;

Your BOTH correct !!!!!!

I too do NOT codone what happened on 9/11, or terrorism anywhere.

My very FAVORITE tee shirt has the following phrase on it;

"HOMELAND SECURITY.........FIGHTING TERRORISM since 1492"

Below that phrase are the 4 pictures of Indian Chiefs. Among them SITTING BULL, and GERONIMO

ENOUGH SAID !!!

"Manifest Destiny" my A$$ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NH/BB's
 
Yes, and western Europe retaliated with a bloody series of crusades, and the muslims retaliated with...and on and on it goes. "Convert or die" could also be said to be the mantra of the good christians who colonized the new world, or of the catholics who slaughtered the protestants throughout the XVIth century. As for the "massive immigration" you refer to, there is no mystery as to how and why there are such large numbers of arabs and turks in, say, France and Germany. They were BROUGHT there by the governments for cheap labor. Today, the second largest ethnic group in France is comprised of arabs, and if the French don't like it, they only have themselves to blame.

Peace,
Art Tang
IMA
Art half those here blasting the Muslims arent that far away from putting on white hoods and killing in the name of Christ. I admire your efforts to bring enlightenment, facts and common sense to this issue but those who wish to do otherwise have a lot more resources.

I laugh at how the same self professed Christians who in one breath say we should nuke all the Muslims,use the next to defend having American kids die in order to bring freedom to the people of Iraq. So which is it, should we kill them or free them?

By the way Protestants murdered Catholics in Ireland for hundreds of years.

Hatred has no bounds, it is a useful tool for those who need to conceal their true motives, usually greed, and get otherwise normal moral people to be willing to do the most immoral things. Rarely are the reasons for struggles between peoples based upon religious beliefs but rather Religion is used as a means to identify and villianize an opponent or competitor.
 
I laugh at how the same self professed Christians who in one breath say we should nuke all the Muslims,use the next to defend having American kids die in order to bring freedom to the people of Iraq. So which is it, should we kill them or free them?

Both.

Kill those who seek to oppress individual freedoms, and free those who yearn for them.

Muslims aren't one-size-fits-all, and neither are Christians.

By the way Protestants murdered Catholics in Ireland for hundreds of years.

Which completely justified Catholics murdering Protestants in Northern Ireland, right?
 
Art half those here blasting the Muslims arent that far away from putting on white hoods and killing in the name of Christ.

Golly, Bob, isn't that a little extreme? My Klan detector has not even chirped lately.



I am always saddened when I hear religion discussed as a cause or even a major factor in The Troubles. It is political and economic. There may have been a religious subtext in Cromwell's time, but today religion is little more than an indicator or shibboleth. Since the Industrial Revolution, the driving force in the British treatment of the Irish has been economic, the desire for cheap labor. Of course, there are haters, and one's religion makes an easy target, but above the gutter level, religion is of little consequence. There are indeed cultural differences between the Protestant Scotch-Irish and Catholic Irish, but religion is but one of many.

BTW, I regularly drink (and sing) in the company of Irishmen, have family on both sides, visit often, one son lives there now, and another did some field study there while attending SAIS.
 
Look, I am not at all blaming US foreign policy; what I am saying is that it cannot be overlooked as an important facet of the problem. For Americans to scratch their heads and ask "Why do they hate us" is disingenuous at best. On CNN today, the polls state that the majority of Iraqis perceive us as occupiers. Think about it.

Peace,
Art Tang

Art,
If you take a look around, when they are not killing us infidels, they are killing each other.

Why is that?

B) UT
 
Art half those here blasting the Muslims arent that far away from putting on white hoods and killing in the name of Christ. I admire your efforts to bring enlightenment, facts and common sense to this issue but those who wish to do otherwise have a lot more resources.

I would not bet the farm on this Bob.
There are fanatical parts of every known religion, cults, paganism and atheists. After the unrelenting terrorist actions by the Islamic religion, even a reasoned individual might come to a conclusion that the fanatical factions are driving these actions while the contemporary -or- devout remain in compliant silence.

I laugh at how the same self professed Christians who in one breath say we should nuke all the Muslims,use the next to defend having American kids die in order to bring freedom to the people of Iraq. So which is it, should we kill them or free them?

Takes two Bob. What is your suggestion?

By the way Protestants murdered Catholics in Ireland for hundreds of years.

And Catholics murdered Protestants as well.
What is your point? There was also the Spanish Inquisition and the Otoman Empire.

Hatred has no bounds, it is a useful tool for those who need to conceal their true motives, usually greed, and get otherwise normal moral people to be willing to do the most immoral things. Rarely are the reasons for struggles between peoples based upon religious beliefs but rather Religion is used as a means to identify and villianize an opponent or competitor.

The 'villainization’ of muslims is somewhat self inflected as the muslim populace rejoices in most acts of killing us infidels.

Living in Saudi Arabia (one of the most fundamental and closed Islamic countries) and working with, living with, and sharing some ‘basic’ religious philosophies, I can say without a doubt that the majority are ‘very good’ people and I can (IMHO) attest that the good people there are driven by fanatics drinking the imam koolaid.

B) UT
 

Latest posts