Dear Mr. President,

Do you have a minute for an American who desperately wants to have a word with you? Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jennifer, I am a graduate student of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and I am a concerned citizen whose home is the country you have been elected to lead. Although I have spent the past three years in Israel, I am 100% American, and you are my president. As such, I feel I have a right to know who you are and what you are doing.

First, I applaud your desire to change the world. I think most people wish to have a more peaceful place to live. But why are you reaching out to some and pushing others away? Why do you extend your hand to the Muslims and slap the Jews? Sure, the settlers in Israel need to be dealt with, but if you feel that talking is the best approach with countries like Syria and Iran, don’t you think you could also trying negotiating with the settlers before uprooting them from their homes only to have Gaza-like situation on the West Bank? These settlers are nowhere near as violent as some of the others you are eagerly seeking dialogue with, so maybe you could give them a chance, too.

I listened to your speech in Cairo. You spoke about the glorious achievements of the Muslim world, but most of those achievements happened centuries ago. You promised to be honest, based on what you call the “Holy Quran.” As a fellow Christian, I am bewildered at your neglect of sharing with the Muslims what our own Holy Bible says, but that aside, if you really wanted to tell the truth, why didn’t you talk honestly about the problems in the Muslim world today?

Do you know that as you were wishing the Iranians a happy Nowruz, the regime was watching one of its many political prisoners die? That’s right, Omid-Reza Mir-Sayafi died for one reason: He spoke against the government of Ahmedinajad. He was a brave dissident and he paid the highest price.

Are you on his side, or are you on the side of those who forever silenced his freedom seeking voice? Do you want to befriend democracies that sometimes disagree with you or with dictatorships that always love you? Take a look around, Mr. President. The vast majority of the conflicts in the world today involve Muslims, even in places where there are no Jews to blame. Will you please explain to me why that is?

That brings me to another very important point. In your speech you blamed the displacement of the Palestinian people on the creation of Israel. Do you think that is really fair? If we recall, the United Nations partitioned the land for two states. Had the Palestinians and the wider Arab world accepted the plan that even our country voted in favor of, the situation would not be what it is. Instead, they all declared war. Can you honestly blame the Jews for that?

Another item from you speech that worries me is your declaration that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a right to peaceful nuclear power. Is this a joke? Sure, they have the right to energy, but you don’t honestly think that their intention is to have nuclear power for peaceful reasons, do you? I mean, do you hear President Ahmedinajad? He wants to destroy Israel. And if he attempted to do so, his bombs would not differentiate between Arab and Jew, Israeli and Palestinian, citizen and foreign resident. All of us in Israel and Palestine would be equally dead. I guess that would speed up the peace process for you.

Now, I have one final question, and it is the most important to me. Is it true, Mr. President, that you have been having private talks with leaders of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in Washington, D.C., as I have read in the Arabic press? Do you know who they are? Do you understand their goals? Their previous leader, Sayyid Qutb has been called the “brains behind bin Laden.” This organization is the original Islamic fundamentalist group, the predecessor to al-Qaida and others.

I must allow my emotions to be completely unveiled here, because I must share with you something very personal from my life. About four years ago, on July 23, 2005, I was vacationing in Na’ama Bay, near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Suddenly, three explosions rocked the beautiful resort area, violently taking the lives of nearly 90 innocent people, most of whom were Egyptians.

I was not physically wounded, thank God, but I have suffered greatly because of what I saw and experienced that night. Each and every time I think of those bombs by body temperature drops and I begin to shake. I have suffered from survivor’s guilt, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and insomnia because of that terrorist attack.

Sometimes when I am lying in bed I can hear the long echoes that followed each near simultaneous explosion. I hear mothers screaming the names of their children and I see faces covered in blood. I remember the sounds of children crying, and the smell of smoke in the dry, hot July desert. These are things I will never forget. Do you know who did this? Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin.

The Muslim Brotherhood. If the rumors are false, excuse me for doubting you. But, if you, as the man who swore to protect and defend the citizens of the United States of America, are now talking to these monsters who wish to impose the most extreme, distorted version of Islamic law on their society and the world, then I can no longer believe a word you say.

Mr. President, if there is one last thing I can say to you it is this: As a man who studied history, you should know better.

Sincerely,
Jennifer J. Rigdon