bloggable moment
so i just had a bloggable moment - meaning one after which i tried calling all my verizon in people to share with but nobody was available so i have to blog about it instead.
here's a nutshell of it - note to would-be christian proselytizers: if you run into someone of another faith who is very obviously practicing, i.e., a hijabi muslim, don't tell them your son had a koran but you threw it away because you don't want to be an expert on that. and try not to tell them about their own religion, particularly when you don't actually know much about it.
so she was very nice - i approached her about a quote for a story and she very kindly gave it. and then, as part of her answer had to do with the fact that she was part of a bible study group, she invited me to talk for a few minutes about faith - which stemmed from, as she told me right before i left, the feeling she had when i approached the table that i had come into her life at that moment for a particular reason. which, i suppose, is always true to some extent... and you know, i really do appreciate religious people of all stripes (by which i mean people who think about and study their faith, for whom their faith means something.) and i can even appreciate the christian folks who earnestly want you to accept jesus christ as the son of God, however wrong that is, depending on how they approach it. but there's a line between admirable conviction and a brick wall, and she was just a tad over that line on the brick side. if you approach a person by pretty much informing them you're not interested in what they have to say - my first comment to her was going to be how interesting it was that i encountered her at such a spiritual time in my own faith, and she actually interrupted me to tell me, "oh it's not spiritual, it's challenging, because you guys have got it all down pat" and no i don't know what that means - challenging not spiritual - anyone wanna take a swing at it please do - if you approach them like that, then you're really not going to get anywhere, you're just going to be scary. and she was scary! nice but scary. i am happy to dialogue, but i'm not going to debate someone who threw the qur'an away, because they're obviously not going to hear what i'm saying. anyway, so i gave her one of my real email addresses, we'll see what happens.
just weird man. i mean, i'm not going to pretend i know everything about christianity, why are you going to say you KNOW the qur'an says you should chop off people's heads if they oppose you, when you threw the book away? how do you know what it says, if you just listen to what someone else tells you?
anyway, musa calling, gotta go. we have totally screwed up his sleep schedule once again, so i'm trying to have him go all day without a nap, which means keeping him up but not tiring him out, just at least for the next four to four.5 hours!!
here's a nutshell of it - note to would-be christian proselytizers: if you run into someone of another faith who is very obviously practicing, i.e., a hijabi muslim, don't tell them your son had a koran but you threw it away because you don't want to be an expert on that. and try not to tell them about their own religion, particularly when you don't actually know much about it.
so she was very nice - i approached her about a quote for a story and she very kindly gave it. and then, as part of her answer had to do with the fact that she was part of a bible study group, she invited me to talk for a few minutes about faith - which stemmed from, as she told me right before i left, the feeling she had when i approached the table that i had come into her life at that moment for a particular reason. which, i suppose, is always true to some extent... and you know, i really do appreciate religious people of all stripes (by which i mean people who think about and study their faith, for whom their faith means something.) and i can even appreciate the christian folks who earnestly want you to accept jesus christ as the son of God, however wrong that is, depending on how they approach it. but there's a line between admirable conviction and a brick wall, and she was just a tad over that line on the brick side. if you approach a person by pretty much informing them you're not interested in what they have to say - my first comment to her was going to be how interesting it was that i encountered her at such a spiritual time in my own faith, and she actually interrupted me to tell me, "oh it's not spiritual, it's challenging, because you guys have got it all down pat" and no i don't know what that means - challenging not spiritual - anyone wanna take a swing at it please do - if you approach them like that, then you're really not going to get anywhere, you're just going to be scary. and she was scary! nice but scary. i am happy to dialogue, but i'm not going to debate someone who threw the qur'an away, because they're obviously not going to hear what i'm saying. anyway, so i gave her one of my real email addresses, we'll see what happens.
just weird man. i mean, i'm not going to pretend i know everything about christianity, why are you going to say you KNOW the qur'an says you should chop off people's heads if they oppose you, when you threw the book away? how do you know what it says, if you just listen to what someone else tells you?
anyway, musa calling, gotta go. we have totally screwed up his sleep schedule once again, so i'm trying to have him go all day without a nap, which means keeping him up but not tiring him out, just at least for the next four to four.5 hours!!
posted by Ayesha | 3:44 PM
4 Comments:
Salaam,
*sigh*
I guess everyone does have something to teach us - in this case how NOT to approach someone!
"oh it's not spiritual, it's challenging, because you guys have got it all down pat"
What does that even mean?!
Warmly,
Baraka
http://rickshawdiaries.wordpress.com/
I have to say I appreciate my father-in-law at those times. When johovah's witnesses or Mormons come by the house, he lets them express themselves, then makes them listen to him, sometimes for hours. ;) He drops some knowledge and if they try to argue or fight, he simply says, I allowed you to tell me about your faith, now I have invited you into my house to tell you about mine. Please don't be rude. They don't get people dropping by anymore. I think they are on the banned list. ;) funny but true, and Waseem does the same thing...I have not seen to many on our doorstep either.
The point is, if you want to club someone over the head with your views, expect to be clubbed back, or at least lightly clobbered...
And I'm out!
reminds me of a student at the pit i met whilst enjoying the antics of Gary Birdsong. he told me he couldn't read the Qur'an because he wouldn't be a good Christian if he did so.
wth??
She sounds like a person who has read all of the "Islamo-facist" stuff that the right wing evanglical types are selling.
If she read her own Bible she'd find The Qur'an a bit mellow. This coming from someone who was raised in the Protestant faith and attended church every Sunday as a kid.
She was transfering a bit of herself to you when she said it had it all wrapped up. It is clear she certainly did.
Reminds me of a lady in Alaska who proclaimed to me what anyone who didnt have her exact Christian beliefs would go straight to hell, including those Christians who didnt share 100% of her particular sects teachings.
She was a real piece of work. She also told me that she never planned on traveling outside of the USA, as "the USA has everything, I dont need to go anywhere else".
I, as an American, am glad this sort of "ugly American" wouldnt be going abroad.
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