Letter to Guantanamo

Not many people would think of being pen pals with a terrorist. But Rory Green, a Christian who lives in Nottingham, England, did. After reading about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whom the U.S. government believes masterminded the 9/11 attacks, Green wrote him a letter. 

“I just had this compassion for him,” Green said. “I thought this man needs Jesus as much as the average Joe—who else is going to reach out to this man with love and prayers?"

Green wrote to Mohammed: "I am not here to trick you, [or] make you feel worse than anybody in the world. There is hope in forgiveness through Jesus Christ."

After many months, Green received a 27-page reply full of reflections on Islam and Christianity. "I appreciate your deep concern regarding my worldly and hereafter life,” Mohammed wrote to Green from his cell at Guantanamo. “You asked me to repent from my sins. For your own information, I never stop."

When the exchange with Mohammed came to light, Green felt he had to explain himself. "I think terrorism is disgusting and senseless,” he told the press. “If he is guilty, I pray for justice to be done, whatever that looks like to the courts. But this man is in a serious life-threatening situation. I just want to build a relationship, be his friend, talk to him more about his faith."

Green’s story was reported in British paper the Guardian, but seems not to have made its way into an American outlet.