Former Deep Space Nine star Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir) sent a letter to his fan club yesterday expressing his sympathies over the terrorist attacks that hit America on Tuesday.

The letter was sent by Siddig, who is currently working on a film in England, to Sid City. The letter came as a reaction to Tuesday's events, when terrorists slammed two hijacked planes into the World Trade Center in New York and another one in the Pentagon in Washington. The full text of the letter can be found below:

"Dear All,

"If Christmas is a time when we get together to celebrate the family, and Thanksgiving marks a day of gratitude for the community - New Year's a time of national cohesion .. then I hope history will remember Tuesday the eleventh of September 2001 as the day when humanity as a race came together to fight our common enemy within - our own messed up brothers and sisters who share this world with us.

"I have been glued to the television these past two days, punching redial on my telephone every ten minutes or so for six hours yesterday until the international phone lines cleared up, just waiting to hear news of my little boy and his mother [DS9 actress Nana Visitor - TT] and his brother, all of whom I was worried about. During these past two days I have heard and seen gestures and moments of such courage and selflessness that I simply had to write to you, the only group of Americans I know (personally in many cases) if for no other reason than to remind you all that you are in sympathetic company all over the world. Your nation is not alone. The British Prime Minister has said today that this was not just an attack on the American people but on the free world. Leaders from nearly every country have unanimously stepped up to the plate to try and share your grief, offer their support and burden the responsibility of exacting some kind of revenge on the sad and lost people who did this.

"I like to think that the very few people who were in the vicinity and have so far survived these attacks have set an example for all of us. Their calmness, their understanding of what needed to be done, their ability to stop running and turn to help someone less fortunate than themselves are examples of what every one of us on this planet is capable of. If America is the leader of the free world (and I believe it is) then these Americans have lead by example.

"It isn't my place to tell any of you how to react - your own personal consciences will, no doubt, be your guides but I would like to add 'my two cents' to your discussions on this topic and beg you to remember that many of the people who are saddened and shocked by all this are people who will, in the days to come, seem like your enemies - people who had no part in this, who also have children and lovers and family. Many Islamic countries have condemned this action including aggressive states like Syria and Iran -even Palestine. I am not a Muslim nor indeed am I a Christian, I am just another person bumbling through life, trying to stay on my own two feet. - and I am not an American, but I can hear what the rest of the world has to say about this tragedy and from what I can tell, the rest of the world is holding out a friendly, helping hand. It's possible that you may not need any other country's help - but the hand is still there.

"I hope that when I see you again soon we can all say that our reactions to these atrocities have begun the process of putting an end to world wide terrorism - not perpetuating it. I sincerely hope that none of your families have been personally marked by all this. "Sid"

The original copy of the letter can be found here at Sid City.

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