As I watched television this week the announcers mentioned that many people across the country have been affected by the tragedy by either knowing someone who is missing or knowing someone who knows someone who is missing. This could not be more true. I found out that two people in our company had missing relatives in the World Trade Center.

Out of a company of nearly 1,000 people with four offices across North America, the two missing employees are a Pakistani Muslim whose brother is missing and the other is a Sikh who's relative is missing.

Ironic, isn't it? The face of terrorism seems to know no religious or ethnic boundaries.

As I watched the first video footage taken of the destruction at ground zero, by a young man on a motorcycle who had bypassed police roadblocks, I was reminded of the bani written by Guru Nanak when he walked through the town of Saidpur in the aftermath of a great slaughter by the Mughal, Babar.

Guru Nanak writes of the senseless slaughter of the weak and the innocent and the need for justice. The Guru questions God, but does not lose his faith and affirms the greatness of the Almighty even at a time of death and carnage:

"There was so much slaughter that the people screamed. Didn't You feel compassion, Lord? O Creator Lord, You are the Master of all. If some powerful man strikes out against another man, then no one feels any grief in his or her mind. But if a powerful tiger attacks a flock of sheep and kills them, then it's master must answer for it. This priceless country has been laid waste and defiled by dogs, and no one pays any attention to the dead. You Yourself unite, and You Yourself separate; I gaze upon Your Glorious Greatness." (Guru Nanak, pg. 360)

I've always hated the term 'religious fundamentalist'. Fundamentalist to me means someone who is focused on the fundamentals of a religion, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Religious fanatics, and not religious fundamentalists, committed this act of terror. A religious fanatic is someone who manipulates and distorts a religion beyond recognition for his or her own means. God knows that we have fanatics in our own religion, but by no means do we have a monopoly on them.

Osama bin Laden and his followers have manipulated and distorted Islam beyond any recognizable boundary of humanity to justify their killing spree in the name of Allah. They place no value on human life yet claim to be pious Muslims and the guardians of Islam while seeking to kill the unbelievers. In no way are people like bin Laden representative of Islam, which is one of the great world religions, a religion of peace and submission to God.

It is interesting to note that Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains references to such irreligious fanatics in the 500-year-old bani of Bhagat Kabir:

"You keep your fasts to please Allah, while you murder other beings for pleasure. You look after your own interests, and do not see the interests of others. What good is your word? O Qazi, the One Lord is within you, but you do not behold Him by thought or contemplation. You do not care for others, you are a religious fanatic, and your life is of no account at all. Your Holy Scriptures say that Allah is True, and that he is neither male nor female. But you gain nothing by reading and studying, O madman, if you do not gain the understanding in your heart. Allah is hidden in every heart; reflect upon this in your mind." (Bhagat Kabir, pg. 483)

One of the cornerstones of Sikhism is the idea of the Sant Sipahi, the Saint Soldier. It is the duty and obligation of Sikhs to stand up against every form of injustice and oppression. In this terrible time we, yes we as Sikhs, want to make people aware that we are not Muslims. At the same time we need to support Muslims. We are not cowards saying, 'hey I'm not a Muslim don't attack me, attack the other guy'. That's not what we are all about.

Remember Guru Tegh Bahadur who gave his life for the freedom of people of another religion to practice their faith. It's time for us, as a people, to put into practice our Gurus teachings and reach out to our Muslim brothers and sisters to support them and let them know that we stand in solidarity with them in their darkest hour.

As we stand on the precipice of immanent war against an unknown enemy, I think that it cannot be stressed enough that there is a huge difference between revenge and justice. When the American Congress voted the other day to grant President Bush money and power to proceed with war it was interesting to note that only one person out of 400 odd representatives in Congress voted against the bill. When asked why she had voted against the bill she replied she was concerned that in our eagerness to strike at the enemy the President must assure the American people that measures will be taken to ensure that innocent civilians are not killed in the process. She voted with her conscience and I really commend her for having the courage to do so in the atmosphere of 'patriotic revenge' that seems to be sweeping across the country.

We only have to turn to examples in our own history to see the distinction between revenge and justice. Unlike Hinduism, Sikhism does not believe in the Ahinsa theory of non-violence and non-injury to any living being. Some of our Gurus killed human beings. The kirpan that we carry today is an instrument of death. The Gurus always made a very clear distinction between revenge and justice. They fought for justice against tyranny, killing soldiers of the Hindu Hill Rajas and those of the Mughal armies.

Look at our history, the Gurus always let their prisoners of war go and the Khalsa treated the wounded of both sides on the battlefield with equal compassion. Even though Guru Gobind Singh's children were all ruthlessly killed at the orders of the Emperor Aurangzeb, what does Guru Gobind Singh do? He writes to the Emperor and asks to meet him on equal terms and goes on to become friends with his son Bahadur Shah. He did not blame or hate all Muslims for the death of his children.

The Guru and the Khalsa were able to make a clear distinction between justice and revenge. Let us all pray that the leaders of the free world, as they get together to punish those responsible for the evil deeds that we have recently witnessed, are also able to make that distinction. If they don't, then we may face a never ending cycle of suicide bombers and revenge attacks.