An Open Letter to Ariana Grande

To Ariana,

A terrorist targeting your Dangerous Woman Tour with a bomb explosion is a headline we never, ever imagined we’d hear. Based on your tweet responding to the terrorist attack at your Manchester show, it feels as though you have taken responsibility for such an abhorrent act.

You don’t need to apologize for the heartbreak caused by Salman Abedi. A concert is somewhere an artist and their fans connect through the joy of music. We dance and sing together, leaving our troubles outside the venue for a few hours of the day to relish and bask in overwhelming happiness. Just because the attack took place at your own concert, this does not mean that the fatalities were caused by you – they were caused by Salman Abedi, and Salman Abedi alone. How could you have ever anticipated that the Dangerous Woman Tour’s carefree celebration of love and freedom would be targeted by terrorists fighting against those very things? The core of your concert was euphoria, peace and unity, and it is beyond tragic that ISIS chose to taint that positivity and take away from the intentions of your show. You will never be held accountable for this sickening act of violence, so please do not internalize any guilt regarding this attack. You are not to blame for what happened.

Take a timeout. You need time to heal from this ordeal. And you will heal. As will the families of the tragic victims. Manchester, the UK and the rest of the world will heal, but only through time and courage will we begin to recover. 

We will continue to pray for Manchester, and the twenty-two beautiful souls we lost that night. Through music, we are united and we are stronger. We’re gonna be alright.

Yours Truly,

Hasan