Thoughtfulness Beyond Measure: Gifts from Medina

Describing this is difficult, because it's one of those things where seeing the region and meeting the people is really necessary to "picture" what people are like here. I mean this in terms of the native Qataris, the other Arab cultures, the Persian cultures, the Filipino, Nepalese, Indian, Egyptian, and many others. In my own experience, what I have seen on TV of these "exotic" cultures is nothing but a shadow of reality--this is what this adventure is teaching me.

This week, I read on Facebook and in the local newspaper about a speaker on the university campus in Texas making hateful comments about Muslims. We also hear a lot in sectors of the American media about Islam being a religion of violence. Not everyone says this--but it is common enough not the be deniable. Many Americans are scared of Muslims.

I am in no position to change the world, but I am in a position to tell you about my own personal experiences. I don't think my experiences are overly special--I think there are many other people doing kind things for one another and finding commonalities rather than differences among the ways they view life. These meeting points--the points where we can smile and see that we are both the same and different and that we can exist peacefully and perhaps in a rich, interesting world--these are a major source of joy for me. Looking for these meeting points is why I even wanted to come here at all.

So when John brought home these gifts, I felt blessed beyond measure.

Our friend Khalid, whose beautiful Mother (Um Khalid) sent me the dressing gown and sent John the tea pot, has been no less than a true cultural ambassador for our family. He and his fiance (Balsam) answer all our crazy questions with patience, good humor, and love. When we visit, we laugh a lot and we are able to ask each other questions about cultures and "how things work" and we are able to ponder they why's and how's of not only the other culture but also of our own cultures as we try to "make sense" of them.

This spring, Khalid took a holy trip to Medina. Please read more about Medina here.  To say this trip is "important" for a practicing Muslim is to demonstrate my lack of understanding--I don't know of a right word to explain its deep meaning.  Called a "hajj," it's described in some nice detail again on Wikipedia. From my perspective, I would think that this trip must be highly personal. It is certainly a sacred trip for a Muslim. Here's a nice blog posting about one pilgrim's trip.  And what did Khalid do while he was there?  While he was concentrating on his own faith and the meaning of this journey?  He also thought of the Small family.  He brought us back these beautiful gifts.

This is a small plastic camera that is a gift many pilgrims bring back to their children (who don't go on the hajj). The camera is a tiny "View Master." Look into the view finder, and you see photos of Medina. Push the button, and a new picture appears. Below, you can see one of the photos--I held the gift up to the outside light and focused my own digital camera "inside" it. So the photo isn't great, but you can see that it's golden dome on top of a mosque.

I don't want to surely make a fool of myself by wrongly saying which holy building this golden dome belongs to, but I can say that other photos inside the camera are of the Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām (the sacred Mosque) and of the cube-shaped Kaaba (one of the holiest sites in the Islamic world), as well as of people praying.  I can see how these photos would hold an air of mystery and excitement for the pilgrim's sons and daughters.  Khalid brought each of our kids a camera, and we will treasure these.

He also brought a translation of the Qur'an to John and me. Translation of the Qu'ran into English is serious business. The Qur'an is considered the literal word of God--the Prophet was a sort of "channel," and God spoke through him (though the Prophet was illiterate he was able spontaneously to write God's words, which are described as beautiful poetry). This makes accuracy in translation crucial.  Khalid told John that this is known to be the best translation.

He brought this to us because we have asked questions about Islam and have welcomed questions about Christianity as John and I know it.  Khalid is not trying to change us, and we are not trying to change Khalid.  What we have is a friendship of mutual care and respect.  We want to know more about each other so we can find those similarities and appreciate those differences I mentioned above.

What an incredibly special kindness and a humbling demonstration of the thoughtfulness of our friends and hosts.   If I had taken a spiritually-centered trip, to Bethlehem at Chrismas, for example, would I have thought to bring something back to my Muslim friends?  I am not sure I would have been this thoughtful.  I thank Khalid, Balsam, their families, my students, and many of my colleagues for helping me reflect and learn these lessons.