London. The place where I grew up. The place that nurtured my love for the English Language. The place where I wrote my first story and spent my first winter, building my first snowman.

Nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that life...

It is a city that I love with all my heart. Every inch of park, every grain of sand, and each slab of granite and marble. For all that it is grey and gloomy, for all that the rain seems to favour it more than any other place in the world, it has become like a comfortable old jumper to me, a classic find, and one that I will never let go.

It is a city that is beautiful because of its imperfections, glorious because of its flaws, and well-known for its people's solidarity and strength. Every stone and every concrete slab - if not covered in graffiti then dotted with bubblegum, but either way all bursting with life, with a vibrancy that will not be quelled by a few cowards with a few bombs.

...where freedom is strong and the people can live in harmony...whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.

Why do you think London was chosen to host the 2012 Olympics out of the many outstanding cities that took part in the bid? All the other cities are equally strong and each with their own special strengths, but to me, London is the most colourful, the most brilliant city. It is such a unique mix of old and new, castles and steel skyscrapers, lush green countryside and cobbled streets that have seen both World Wars and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, walls of street art and the solemn British Museum of plundered treasures...and most of all, that fiery, stubborn, and unrelenting bulldog spirit that is the hallmark of the British people.

This is London. People have lived here for tens of thousands of years. It's going to take more than this to bring us down.

This is a city that has seen, lived through, and survived the Blitz, the Plague, and the Great London Fire, and it has a people so patriotic that during the Euro 2004, almost every car I came across was flying the Union Jack or St. George's Cross. Perhaps the terrorists should have read their history textbooks first before attacking London. London is a place that has withstood attacks before, made by many enemies, and there are people there - and indeed, all over the world - willing to defend it to their last breath.

You are going to have to get through people like me, for generations and generations, before you even come close to succeeding.

After all, this is a place that has had the privilege of having people such as Winston Churchill to lead it. The most the terrorists - cowards, or however you wish to address them - will be able to do is to watch as Londoners pick themselves up, go about their daily business and soldier on, as stoic and determined as ever.

...And we will prevail. We will overcome.

Quote by Afdhel Aziz, a Muslim in London.

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