Dear Muslim Friend,
I want to greet you at this time when our minds are naturally full of what happened a year ago.
It has been good for me to reflect on those events and to ask God what attitudes He wants to change in me. Certainly I want to submit more readily to His will and I've discovered a verse in our Scripture which contains a clear command.
In Leviticus 19.34 God says: 'The stranger living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself'. When I read these words I realised how I have failed to show friendship to Muslims who live in Britain. In fact, to be honest, I have made the excuse: 'Muslims are mostly terrorists and fundamentalists who want to impose their harsh, out-of-date laws on Britain.' I know very well that this is a caricature exaggerated by the media, but I have used it as an excuse for not talking to Muslims when I see them. In recent months God has been changing this negative attitude in me. He has taken away my fears and opened my heart to Muslims who live around me.
