This week we’ll take a break from the Coronavirus news. All the world is tired to listen to the same plot again and again.
I want to share with you something different: this week as Xaverian Missionaries here in US, we had a chance to celebrate a virtual “Iftar” with our Muslim friends that are living the Ramadan season. So, in this episode I want to share a true story of one of my Muslim friends.
First of all, if you don’t know what an Iftar is, I’ll tell you: that’s the daily break of the fast for Muslims who are living the Ramadan. In this celebration they generally use to eat some dates and milk, because this was the food that the prophet Mohammed used to eat in this special time.
What’s the meaning of the fast for Muslims? It’s a way to achieve the consciousness of God! Indeed, when you fast, you are aware of your weaknesses and that you need the God’s gifts to live your life.
Usually, nowadays we look at the fast as strange practice. Maybe we consider it some middle-age custom too far from us. But it’s meaning still have relevance for us.
The world is living a big fast with this pandemic and all of us are becoming aware that alone we can’t do anything. We are all connected and we need the help and the presence of the others to be alive.
I’ll tell you a story to better express this idea. This story is about a Muslim kid very special, who taught me to be more open mind:
His name is Abdou, 16 year’s old, but when I met him for the first time, he said he was 18. This age in Italy – the country where he is still living – is the age of the maturity.
With Abdou I had one of the most powerful meeting in my life: He is Muslim, as his family is; every Friday he use to go to the Koranic school, and he lives his five prayer’s time regularly. However, I met him for the first time in a Catholic community where I was working as missionary student.
He used to come to all our youth meetings; he was the most constant of his peers. One day I asked him: “Abdou, but what your family think about you coming here in a Catholic church?” and not surprised of my question he answered me: “They don’t know I come here!” – “They don’t know?” – I replied – “I usually tell them that I’m going to my basketball training… please, come with me, I’ll show you something…” – he had taken me to the basement of the church and he showed me a big sports bag.
I was really impressed: so, for all this time was he lying to their parents to visit our community? But why? I had asked him and he said to me:
“Here there is a family, I have my friends, I’m Muslim and I’m happy to be that, I love my faith, I don’t want to become Cristian, but here there is a family and I need it!”
Abdou a 16 years old kid
What he found there? Abdou was looking for freedom? Maybe, indeed, one time he said to me: “I want to study in a technical school but my father want that I take a different high school… so, in the morning I go to that one and in the night I’m following classes in a technical one”. This was a 16 years old kid!
However, Abdou gave me the most impressive teaching during the time of Ramadan: we had our usually youth gathering as every month and we used to have a dinner together. Abdou came, as usually, at that meeting, because we were his family as he liked to say. But it was Ramadan for him… I was impressed that he was delighted, enjoying the meeting but he hadn’t eaten anything and the other youth respected his choice to live his Ramadan.
What Abdou can teach us: that we can really live together as a family, it doesn’t matter who we are; which is our religion, race, body color or beliefs… Whoever we are, we are all called to become one family!
Listen to this article on my podcast channel!