Thank You Mom & Dad

Growing up, I could have never asked for better parents. I owe both my mom and dad so much because if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

The Islam they taught me is very different from the notorious one you always hear about in the news today. They taught me to practice mutual respect and do unto others as I would like them to do unto me.

There are so many stories I could share with you just to show you the kind of people they are.

The school I studied in back in Qatar had some elements of the notorious type of Islamic interpretation being practiced. Everyone hated Israel and anything related to Israel. There was once this biracial kid who got beaten up pretty badly one day. Hid dad was Qatari and his mom was American. My friends beat the crap out of him because his watch had the Star of David incorporated into its design. I just stood by confused and watched as it happened. I felt sorry for him and I wondered to myself if he deserved it or not. After all in my mind and the minds of all my school mates, Israel was an evil devil, an evil devil that wanted to destroy us all.

I went back home that day and told my mom what happened. She was disgusted, firstly because what happened was wrong and secondly because it was totally absurd to beat up an innocent kid for how his watch looked like. Israel apparently was evil towards Palestinians but that didn’t justify what happened. Plus, simply wearing such a watch didn’t mean you supported Israel.

On another occasion that happened in the same school a few years later, my friends and I discovered that a Lebanese kid who chilled with us was a Christian. All my friends wanted to stop befriending him because apparently it was “wrong” to befriend a Christian. I went back home that same day and told my mom about what happened. Again she was disgusted and told me that all my friends were stupid for acting the way they did. She explained that Islam never said it was wrong to befriend non-Muslims. “You can befriend anyone as long as they’re sincere and good to you” she said to me with a reassuring tone. She even took the time to tell me all the wonderful stories about her dear Coptic friends back in Sudan. I felt comforted knowing the voice shouting deep inside my head was right.

The next day I went to approach my Lebanese friend who looked at me and sarcastically said “oh look who’s here. It’s Drima the greatest friend in the world”. I told him what I thought of the stupid action the other kids took against him the day before. He was touched and we continued being friends. Also thanks to me (ehm ehm), the other kids eventually stopped their stupid attitude and everything went back to normal again.

Seven years ago too, I had the pleasure of learning a deep lesson from my dad. He found out that his American friend was coming down to Malaysia for some work, so he invited him to stay over with us in our house for a few days. “Dad who’s this white dude who’s going to come and stay with us?” I asked. “Oh son, this guy used to be my professor back in America. He’s a real nice guy and a good friend” replied my dad. “What kind of work is he coming here for? Is he coming for a conference?” I asked again. “No son, he’s coming down for missionary work. He doesn’t teach in the university anymore. He’s an Evangelist Christian missionary now” my dad replied back. I was puzzled. Why were we going to let a guy doing missionary work come and stay with us? Won’t he feel the need to convert us? Doesn’t he mind the fact that we’re Muslim? “Dad, please explain” I said. My dad knew what I was thinking and very calmly replied “son, to him is his religion and to us is ours. We both share mutual respect towards one another and we have a very special friendship. He’s a nice guy. Believe me you’ll like him”.

My dad’s old friend arrived and we all sure did like him. There were no weird awkward moments or anything like that at all. Hell, my dad would even excuse himself to go perform the five obligatory prayers only to come back, chill and continue his conversation. It was such a nice and wonderful experience indeed.

God, I can go on and on but I have to go hit the books now. Oh ya and apparently my dad had a Sudanese Jewish friend back in the University of Khartoum. More about that another day. Anyways, all I want to say is “thank you mom and dad for helping shape me and making me the person I am today”. This post is dedicated to both of you.

Cheers