I had another topic on which to blog, but my thoughts were altered after viewing the ongoing events in Iran.

By now, you have all seen the videos of Neda on YouTube or the news shows.  Wacthing this young 16 year old teenager get shot while walking in the street in Tehran is both horrifying and tremendously moving.  

We cannot state if this was friendly fire, the military, the Basij or the “alleged” Russians brought in by the current regime.  Perhaps she ventured into the streets because she was in support of the protesters, or it was exciting and she was caught up in the moment.  Perhaps she was bored and wanted to be part of the youth movement, or maybe her parents forbade her to go and in rebellion and defiance, she emerged from the safety of her home to join those in opposition of the current government.

I ask myself as I see these brave individuals, who have been ordered to remain indoors and whose government has attempted to cut off all contact with the outside world,  if I would have the same courage.  I am sure that they did not think initially that their lives would be at risk.

With the vast majority of the population under 30, they have been able to communicate with other countries through new technological media.  We are well aware that even if the election is considered invalid and repeated, the anti-western sentiment and nuclear ambitions of Iran may not change.  Nonetheless, I am praying and hoping for the safety of these protesters and I admire the principled stand they are making.

Would I have the moral courage to stand for our principles?  Martin Luther King said “Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent on things that matter.”  I hope this message goes out to these brave Iranians who have become our sisters and brothers in their struggle for the inalienable rights which are guaranteed to us by our constitution.

Allahu Akbar!  God is Great!