Tuesday afternoon I was picking up my teenage boys up from school when they both blurted out, "Did you see what Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) tweeted?" Um, no, I hadn't heard a thing about Curt Schilling in a long time.

You see, Tuesday, August 25th, happened to be the 19th anniversary of the day that I, by God's Grace, walked in to a mosque with a strong desire to become Muslim. So we're a Muslim family, and we're an American family, with a mix of English and Arabic in our names (well in theirs, but I'm happy with the name my parents chose for me). My wonderful wife, and amazing mother of our children, is of Egyptian descent, Canadian birth, and is now a US Citizen. And we are lifelong fans of baseball, along with a bunch of other uniquely American interests.

As I drove, my two sons, Malik and Yusif, read the tweet to me from their phones along with Mr. Schilling's editorial comments on the meme he had retweeted. I'm sure we were all pretty much thinking and saying the same thing - 'What the heck, we can't even have a baseball hero without him comparing us to the nazis?'

In our family, we don't have to explain to each other the errors of all the people taking to the airwaves (or internet) to spread falsehoods about our religion, and, frankly, this petition has nothing to do with defending Islam, demonstrating our victimhood, or calling out Mr. Schilling. Quite the contrary, this petition is about being a Muslim, and living Islam, and so it's directed, firstly, at our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.

I remind myself first, and I remind my fellow Muslims, especially in America, what we already well know. Islam is completely, first and foremost, about mercy. After mercy, Islam is also about justice, when justice is necessary to restore the rights of the wronged. But the wronged do themselves and others a great favor if they can simply forgive the wrongdoers. This is the example of our Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him and all Prophets), who is called "A Mercy to All of Creation".

So to my fellow Muslims, all of whom are hurt and suffer harm from everyone who slanders and incites against Islam, I ask that if you agree, sign this petition indicating your forgiveness of Mr. Schilling, and calling upon ESPN to return him to his job. Please, don't decide to sign or not to sign because Mr. Schilling was apologetic, or not. Or because he's suffered enough, or he hasn't yet. Rather, sign not for any other reason than doing what is best, following our Prophet ﷺ, and repaying a wrong act with an act that is better.

Anyone else who wants to join us in upholding mercy and forgiveness, please sign as well. And to ESPN, we appreciate your principled stand with Mr. Schilling. He did make a mistake, and mistakes have consequences, and we American Muslims felt and appreciated your support in this matter. But, the power is with you, at ESPN, and we wish to give you the opportunity, without fearing the repercussions, to restore Mr. Schilling to his work, and to his livelihood. Thank you!

PS If you sign, please share - Facebook, Twitter, or with anyone who maybe interested (email, etc.)