To my Fundamentalist Friends by Mahmood Jamal

You want to speak of war. I want to speak of peace.

You say punish. I say forgive.

You speak of God's wrath. I speak of His mercy.

Your Quran is a weapon. My Quran is a gift.

You speak of the Muslim brotherhood. I speak of the brotherhood of man.

You like to warn others. I like to welcome them.

You like to speak of hell. I like to speak of heaven.

You talk of lamentation. I talk of celebration.

You worship the law. I worship the divine.

You want silence. I want music.

You want death. I want life.

You speak of power. I speak of love.

You search out evil. I warm to the good.

You dream of the sword. I sing of the rose petal.

You say the world is a desert. I say the world is a garden.

You prefer the plain. I prefer the adorned.

You want to destroy. I want to build.

You want to go back. I want to move forward.

You are busy denying. I am busy affirming.

Yet there might be one thing on which we see eye to eye.

You want justice. So do I.