من هناك
10-11-2006, 10:14 PM
I was invited to an iftar tonight…to my friend's place…All here family was there...cousins and aunts too…
The food was diverse and excellent and more than enough…the atmosphere was lovely…
It reminded me of Christmas Eves and of Easter Sundays…
But what struck me is that even though my friend's family is as secular as mine and as western oriented as mine or even more…But nevertheless, religion still has a bigger place than I am used to at home and among my extended family or among my Christian friends…
I kind of liked it and I appreciated my friend more…
Her grandfather was telling me about the family's origins somewhere in Central Asia and how they ended up in Lebanon…I was immediately transported to an altogether parallel universe…to the Silk Road…to Boukhara and Samarqand…to caravans bringing spices from far away places…to Jalal el din al Rumi…to Sufi fraternities… to Konya, Nihawand and Shiraz…To dervishes drunk and aflame for the love of the One and only…
To a time when life was simple…when devotion and praise were only for Allah…
I really felt that her religion is mine too…her sincerity and devotion are mine and the love I saw tonight at her home made me keen to know more about Islam…the true and pure Islam…
That of my friend...
To my friend…
To her grandfather…
All my love…
Mireille
The food was diverse and excellent and more than enough…the atmosphere was lovely…
It reminded me of Christmas Eves and of Easter Sundays…
But what struck me is that even though my friend's family is as secular as mine and as western oriented as mine or even more…But nevertheless, religion still has a bigger place than I am used to at home and among my extended family or among my Christian friends…
I kind of liked it and I appreciated my friend more…
Her grandfather was telling me about the family's origins somewhere in Central Asia and how they ended up in Lebanon…I was immediately transported to an altogether parallel universe…to the Silk Road…to Boukhara and Samarqand…to caravans bringing spices from far away places…to Jalal el din al Rumi…to Sufi fraternities… to Konya, Nihawand and Shiraz…To dervishes drunk and aflame for the love of the One and only…
To a time when life was simple…when devotion and praise were only for Allah…
I really felt that her religion is mine too…her sincerity and devotion are mine and the love I saw tonight at her home made me keen to know more about Islam…the true and pure Islam…
That of my friend...
To my friend…
To her grandfather…
All my love…
Mireille