Bus Meeting With Mustafa

Yesterday I was taking the bus home to NE Minneapolis and I ran into my associate Mustafa. He is always reading something so I asked if he was reading something new that day. He is Shi ite Muslim and he had a pocket sized Quoran that had both English and Arabic and also the further explanations on the bottom of the page. I have never read the Quoran. I felt that, to be respectful to that religion, I should only read it with a Muslim male. The print was small so he lent his reading glasses to me. I read aloud two passages on the crowded bus and we discussed them. It was very interesting. In the fire of the words, I found PEACE as well. Arabs have been placed into a hateful category in this time and space, but they do not ask for "mercy," or come under a "poor me" classification that other minorities scream for. This leaves me with much respect in my heart for their people and traditions. I am sure that Mustafa has more to his life than just reading about all theologies, but that is really not my business. I give him a space and place to be a normal American for a day or a week. Maybe one day the wizard's curtain will open and he will show me it all, but for now he is just a man who humbled himself enough to our traditions that he shaved his traditional beard last week. Mustafa, just know that I had a LION as a pet in my dream last night, but I knew that he could attack at any time.