Gora Gadha Episodes

And speaking of the obtuseness of Gora Gadhas, this whole thing - as well as my newfound passion for arguing my POV when it comes to religion - just reminds me of a very bitter experience with a very 'once-upon-a-time' dear friend whom we shall merely call The Spaniard.

I was spending a few weeks in Greece on self-assigned work in my freelancing days a few years back. As soon as I landed in Athens, I had a lunch date with The Spaniard in fashionable Kolonaki which is hellishly far from the airport.

Already pissed off in general because getting to Kolnaki was neither easy nor cheap , I warned him that I might rush through lunch because I didn't want to miss my Zuhr ki namaaz.

Well, as they say bander kya janey adrak ka swaad ... he insisted on arguing the neccessity of namaaz with me and those were the days when I used to believe that when it comes to religion, it's best not to argue (a part of me still believes that, BTW).

So, during the whole duration of my stay in Athens, whenever we'd be together, there would inevitably be endless uneasy, tension-filled silences that followed stupid, meaningless questions like 'do you really want to go to a heaven created by a god who won't let you in unless you bow infront of him five times a day for the rest of your life?' .

The Spaniard couldn't understand why the slab of parma ham on his kitchen counter wasn't something he could convince me to eat. He couldn't understand why I had to eat Tuna and spaghetti in olive oil when in his house (the only 'safe' foods I spied in his pantry). Why I had to go to another room every so often to say my namaaz.

I mean, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!

I wish back then I'd had the guts to argue but back then, I didn't and I just couldn't understand why The Spaniard had a problem letting me be.

And it's true of all Gora Gadhas ... why can't they just let things be? Why can't they 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'?

When they refuse to eat anything except vegetables, they become Vegetarians with understandable concern for animals. When we refuse to eat pork, we become superstitious, backward pagans.

When they object to religious mockery, they become upholders of theological virtue and sensibilties. When we do it, we become religious fanatics and challengers of Freedom Of Speech.
Needless to say, my Athens trip was spent trying to avoid The Spaniard as much as I could and what was a lovely friendship from a distance became an ugly clash of cultures in real life.

However, in all fairness, I must point out that paanchon unglyan baraber nahi hoteen.

I remember having long (and pleasant) discussions on Islam with a certain Golden Boy under the French sky, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. He was from the States and admitted that meeting me backpacking in Paris changed his view of Muslim women.

I also remember some days spent in a London hostel that looked right out of Blade Runner (it was housed in a what was supposedly formerly a police station). There was Jeff (who I had met earlier at Victoria Station on the way back from Paris) who was so enthralled by the concept of namaz that he asked if he could join me.

A Christian boy experiencing the serenity brought by namaaz that makes me say it regularly. Leading him through chaar rikaat farz. When we finished, he was so overwhelmed. I just looked across at him salaam pherney kay baad and as I smiled at hime while silently mouthing Ayat Ul Kursi, he smiled back. SubhanAllah.

I have to tell you, I don't know if the first (and perhaps only) namaaz of Jeff's life was qabooled by the Big Guy Upstairs, but it was certainly something to warm the heart.

Now THAT was a silence that certainly wasn't uneasy, nor tension-filled and unpleasant :)