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Opinion

House of 1,000 Mirrors

By John Gathright


1,000枚の鏡のある家

米国はアフガニスタンに対する軍事攻撃を開始した。同時多発テロ以来、筆者は日本在住のイスラム教徒への不信感をつのらせる日本人を見てきたが、その傾向は今後ますます強まるかもしれない。しかしイスラム教徒だということだけで怖がったり偏見の目で見ることは間違っている。

As I watch the machines of war churn out disaster and havoc, I can't help but feel pained by the fact that the U.S. and its allies are at war. It grieves me that the same technology and intelligence that can bring these scenes into my living room through TV could not have prevented a full-fledged war.

I loathe terrorism and terrorists but have compassion for all the Afghans, especially the mothers, children, elderly and disabled, who will suffer. Even if the world is at war, I and my family plan to exercise peace and love toward all those around us, including Muslim people in Japan.

Recently, one of the PTA mothers at my son's school blurted out in passing, "Have you noticed lately how scary and angry the Arab people you see in Japan look? They look like terrorists. I was afraid to sit on the train close to them." As I tried to picture the scene on the train, I remembered an old Japanese tale that my homestay mother once told me. It goes something like this.
4Long, long ago in a small country village there was a house that was known as the "House of 1,000 Mirrors." Just inside the entrance of the house there were 1,000 mirrors that greeted visitors.

One morning, a little shiba dog heard of the place, and decided to visit. He happily ran up the stairs, wagging his tail as he entered the doorway. As he looked through the door he was happily surprised to see 1,000 other happy dogs wagging their tails and smiling at him. He smiled even more and so did the other 1,000 dogs.

The little shiba thought, "This is a wonderful place, I will come back often and visit my many friends."

In the same village there lived another little shiba. He was not a happy dog and always wore a scowl on his face. The unhappy shiba also decided to visit the House of 1,000 Mirrors. He went up the stairs, hanging his head and grumbling to himself. When he looked through the door, he saw 1,000 unfriendly dogs staring back at him. He growled at them, and was horrified to see 1,000 little shibas growling back! He turned around and ran home, barking, "What a horrible place, I will never go back there, it is full of vicious, blood-hungry dogs."

As a peace-loving global citizen, I refuse to let myself be led into hatred or distrust of Muslim people. Not only do I have a number of Muslim friends, but know of many Muslims who are just as horrified and filled with grief as I am. Not only are they appalled by the terrorist acts, but they are saddened to be mistakenly associated with Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden is said to have 6,000 committed members from all over the Muslim world, who will sacrifice their lives to attack nuclear power plants, spray nerve gas in public and poison water reservoirs. Bin Laden has declared the U.S. and all countries that support it as enemies Eincluding Japan. We are living in a fearful time, but that fear, combined with prejudice directed at innocent people, is called racism Ewhich is also a crime.

Peace starts with each one of us. All the faces in the world are mirrors. We are responsible for the reflection we see on the faces of others. The world may be at war, but we can still spread peace, kindness and compassion. We can teach our children the joys and blessings of democracy. Out of the rubble of destruction and grief, let smiles and compassion grow and shine.


Shukan ST: Oct. 19, 2001

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