What Neighbors Do

If you like the play Romeo and Juliet, you may like this week’s story. William Shakespeare’s love story was made up and ended tragically. The story I am going to tell is also about love, but it is real, although it is not the juicy romantic type. When you finish reading it, it may bring tears to your eyes, but they will be tears of joy and warmth.

what-neighbors-do

It happened in a small historic farming community called Cordova, Tennessee, where an obscure Christian church called Heartsong Church stood. The church was led by an equally unknown pastor with the name of Steve Stone. About two years ago, Rev. Stone heard that a Muslim congregation was going to build a mosque across the street from them.

Like a true Christian, Rev. Stone put up a welcome sign in front of his church for his new neighbors to see. That’s the sign in the picture above.

As if planned by something ethereal or someone prudential or deity Hirself *1, the leader of the new Memphis Islamic Center, Sh. Yasir Qadhi was an equally open and loving man. He called (or he directed his staff to call) to thank Rev. Stone and at that point they started a real positive and close relationship. Since then members of the two congregations have prayed together, co-hosted community events and did with each other many things like good caring friends would.

Two supposedly monotheistic religions mixing under the same roof? Yes, and it is beautiful! Could it be that, all along, they are, and we are, worshipping the one and the same God with different aliases?

In this unfortunate era of Islam-phobia in the so-called U-N-I-T-E-D States, when even one of the final presidential candidates, in order to attract votes, has to resort to the spreading of casual but deliberate fear of Muslims, the genuine manifestation of love, kindness and bravery by these two congregations is truly refreshing and exceptional.

I don’t know if the Bard of Avon could have used a true story like this to make a stage play. If he did, it would have been truly tragic in the eyes of Dunno Chump*2 and Karl’s Kwazy Kwiminals*3.

___________

*1 “Hirself” is my first attempt of neologism for the genderless “himself/herself/itself.”

*2 My second neologistic attempt for you-know-who.

*3 I heard this name somewhere. I wish I could remember which genius comic coined it.

*** The End ***

 

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