As you may know, Muslims around the world are preparing to observe Ramadan, a month of fasting and religious reflection.
And it comes at a difficult time.
What with the horror in Gaza.
And the rise of anti-Muslim bigotry everywhere including Canada, where scuzzy hate mongers like Ezra Levant make a living peddling hatred against them.
So to try to counter that blind hatred I thought I'd bring you a humble little story about a young Muslim teenager.
The story of Ibraheem Sarhan who lost most of his family to a barrel bomb in Syria, was badly injured, and is now starting over in Canada...
Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, met Ibraheem four years ago at a refugee camp, and had this to say about the young man he has become.
Ibraheem’s resilience is a bright spot in this dark time. By so bravely sharing a window into his life, he gives a voice to these millions of kids whose stories we will never know.
And I liked this:
“We went out against our will, and we shall return with our hope.”
How lucky we are to be able to help him keep that hope alive. And let's hope that we can beat back the forces of bigotry.
To all my Muslim readers, Ramadan Mubarak, Happy Ramadan everybody !!!
10 comments:
Happy Ramadan.
- A commenter formerly known as MC
Salaam, and a very nice and positive message, Simon. Thought you might like this one in the Guardian (which is being rather annoying with its Canada section today, publishing a nasty op-ed about whether Trudeau says sorry too much, and resorting to Con tactics of sissifying him by posting a headline graphic of him crying).
I'd rather have a leader willing to own up to when the country has done wrong, or at least can do better, than the brutal and brash arrogance of its playground-bully southern neighbor. "Canadian exceptionalism" is a far better example to follow. But I digress.
At least this story was nice, and shows the positive effects of the Liberals' welcoming stance toward refugees at a time when compassion and humility are needed the most. It's about a Syrian boy who wrote and published his memoir with help from -- how about that -- his schoolteacher.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/12/abu-bakr-al-rabeeah-syrian-teen-refugee-book
History judges leaders by how they deal with crises rather than simply how they steer the ship through dull and steady times. Compassionate leaders in particular are favored simply for their display of humanity toward those less fortunate. Justin Trudeau will be judged very highly by the time Canada celebrates its bicentennial, as will his father. Trump and Harper, meanwhile, will be at the bottom of the list, and Scheer won't even merit a footnote among the footnotes. And thanks to Trudeau père et fils, maybe it'll be an Ibraheem Sarhan Jr. as prime minister and master of ceremonies. "Because it's 2067."
Thanks Simon
Thank you for reminding us it is Ramadan. Perhaps it is time we all gave a little thought to the belief system of Ramadan. so here is to Ramadan and all those who participate.
Hi anon@6:18...Thank you, I’ll pass it on to my Muslim friends. I myself am an atheist and relapsed member of the Church of Scotland. But when Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid and the food comes out, I have been known to pose as a fake Muslim....😉
Hi Jackie...I’m glad you liked the post. I don’t normally write about religious festivals, but the amount of anti-Muslim bigotry in this country is really bothering me. It’s disgraceful and very un-Canadian. As for those who claim Justin Trudeau apologizes too much, they can just stuff it. The whole notion is absurd. Anything that makes groups who have been wronged feel better, only binds a society together more strongly. Those ghastly Con bigots are disgusting and cheap....
Hi ffibs....you’re welcome. It’s only a little story but I thought it was moving, and a good way to remind people that Muslims are just as human as the rest of us. For it seems to me that some people in this country do need to be reminded about that...
Hi e.a.f...you’re welcome, I actually had to do a little research to find out whether Ramadan had begun. It doesn’t begin officially until the crescent moon is sighted, but on Tuesday it was apparently too cloudy for the moon to be seen so it was put off until today. Now isn’t that interesting? I may be an atheist but I find knowing about the beliefs and traditions of others makes the world I live in more interesting...
Our fellow Canadians who live in Yellowknife and are Muslim, have a very tiny mosque, go on Mecca time for Ramadan.
Yes, if not they wouldn't be able to eat or drink at all when Ramadan falls in months with long days. Remember that the hardest part of the fast is not abstaining from food, but not being able to drink water - unthinkable in places with dry heat. Fasters get up before dawn, have some food (not too salty) and tea rather than coffee as the latter is a much stronger diuretic.
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