Yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny and crisp, as we drove to do our Eid prayers at Jerrahi Mosque. All the regulars were there, plus many one-time visitors, who we only see on Eid. As always, Jerrahi is a microcosm of the world’s cultures, beauty and differences which are to be celebrated. South Asians, Arabs, Americans, Turks, Brazilians, Argentinians (of German origin), etc. etc. This is what makes Jerrahi different than other mosques, and it is this transnational, spiritual quality that attracts all of us there again and again. And of course, our learned shaikh, Baba Tohsin – architect, artist, real estate investor, imam, scholar, Francophone perhaps, and a preserver of the best that Ottoman culture of Turkey had to offer.
His khutba was moving as always, moving not only him, but all of us to tears. We, the targets of enormous hate campaigns, need moments to feel sorry, to gather strength and to give hope also. Every day we are bombarded with TV, radio messaging that attacks our very fiber. Then we go to our centers to draw strength, courage and resilience, and think of all the other nations that had to go through similar travails. Did they learn from their difficulties or did they do it to someone else- that is always a provocative question. Is it about tit-for-tat, even the tat is at the wrong target, albeit the weakest one. What did God intend with all his messengers, and what have done with the messages except divide and wreak havoc?
The message that we take is all that we can control. I choose to take the message of hope, of love, of forgiveness and of true acceptance. It is only my character that I own, not others. It is my dreams that I cling to, not others. And it is my small actions, in this sea of hate, that will encourage others, who like me, are taking actions all over the place. Positive, hopeful actions – like raindrops will form rivers and oceans one day.
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