The
Noble Friend encounters a Sheikh and a Priest
2.
Now,
you don’t see this kind of a thing very often in this part of the world, but here, in
this neighborhood of contradictions, and plush neighborhoods, very much like poor
neighborhoods, are usually overflowing with contradictions, the friendship of these
two…charlatans, oh yes, charlatans, is a famous affair.
3.
They
are neighbors, you see, and have been friends eversince they were in primary school. And inspite of their different religious
backgrounds and different choices in life, they remain friends. Now, they want their
friendship to be “a symbol of tolerance” for all and sundry.
4.
So
as I have said, they are charlatans, charlatans par excellence. And now, fate is throwing
them in my way. How nice fate can be sometimes. I shall not disappoint.
5.
“Behold,” I say addressing my disciples and the
surrounding crowd, and pointing at the two bearded charlatans who seem quite taken by the
whole scene.
6.
“Behold these fine examples of the most dangerous criminals in our
world and our history. Behold these marvelous specimen of the germ that can break the back
of any infected nation, no matter how strong and invincible it might seem to be at the
surface of things. Behold how angelic and innocent
they look. Behold their smiles. Behold their
surprised gaze.
7.
“Observe their disarming mannerisms. And beware, beware of
them and their like, this cowardly pair, this criminal duo, these hypocrites.
8.
“Yes, you, you.”
(Now I turn my attention to the holy duo). “I am talking about you, charlatans. Don’t look
so surprised. Don’t be so stunned. You scoundrels, you hyenas, you hypocrites.”
9.
The
holy duo are not the only ones who are surprised by my violent verbal assault, by the way.
Everybody around me, the crowd and my
disciples, even the diplomat is surprised. Even
the diplomat. Well, he still has a lot to learn, hasn’t he? Everybody still has a lot
to learn, so I might as well start.
10.
“You hypocrites. You claim that you teach respect of the other to your
followers, you claim that you teach them tolerance. You claim that you seed love among the
people, you claim that you inspire hope.
11.
“But in truth you teach nothing but hate and suspicion, and seed
nothing but discord, destruction and despair.
12.
“For at the base of your teaching, you say that belonging is, above
all, a matter of theories and abstractions, not behavior. Never behavior. Now how can this
be?
13.
“Say, is being a Ja’farî, an ‘Alawî, a Durzî or a Sunnî,
or being a Catholic, an Orthodox, a Maronite or a Lutheran, something that can in any way
signify that a person is incapable of murder?
Theft? Gluttony? Treachery? Or rape? Of course it doesn’t.
14.
“So pray, tell me, why do you call the people into these sects of
yours then teach them to respect and tolerate each other? Why? Why don’t you let
people’s public behavior be the basis of judgment and belonging? In this way, we
condemn only those who do harm unto us, and we look upon the rest as our friends,
road-companions and fellow citizens.
15.
“But that will not suit you, you hypocrites, will it? That will not
give you the power you need, the power you lust for.
16.
“That will leave you incapable of manipulating other people’s
destiny, and, perhaps, it will force you to deal with the demons of fear and alienation
wrestling, raging inside of you - the demons inside of you that you rather die than face.
You cowards. You charlatans.”
17.
At
this stage, I turn my attention back to my intrigued audience. “I say to you, I urge you, I beseech you, beware of this lot. They
come in the guise of sheep, but have the hunger of maddened wolves.”
18.
With
the end of my speech, I can see the familiar gleam of understanding as it begins to
intermingle with the gleam of awe in the eyes
of my disciples as well as some of the
members of the crowd.
19.
But
as far as the scoundrels are concerned, the gleam in their eyes is that of rage. They
begin to shout all sort of “polite” profanities at me, accusing me of everything that can come to their
hopelessly diseased minds.
20.
To
them, I become the embodiment of all evil in this world, of all that is wrong with young
people today, of some Zionist conspiracy to destroy the nation and lead the young people
astray, of the Devil Himself, yes, of good old Iblis Himself. What a laugh.
21.
Throughout
the long and tragic history of these people, now circumambulating
me with a certain amount of unnecessary and quite meaningless reverence, one problem
stands above all other problems, one issue emerges as the most paramount of all issues,
one question remains stubbornly unanswered: how to deal with The Other?
22.
The
Other, that most feared of all enemies, that most dangerous of all creatures that God has
ever created, that implacable and consistent threat. These people have never learned to
deal properly, justly, with The Other, because they have always perceived him as someone,
something even, unnatural, undesirable, evil, vile.
23.
They
have never managed to see, to realize that The Other is not simply their neighbor, a
family member, a mirror reflection of themselves, but that The Other is themselves, and
none other than themselves.
“The Other is I. I am The Other.” Do you think, does anyone think, that these people might actually
understand this wisdom, or at least, begin to understand it one day?
24.
A
Christian in a Muslim neighborhood is The
Other. A Muslim in a Christian neighborhood is The Other. Yet, when a Christian and a
Muslim neighbors meet, they smile in each other’s faces, then they go to their
respective temples and beg their God to shower all sorts of evil things upon the head of
The Other, The Other who is not necessarily any more or less prone to do harm in this
world than they are. Because he is not The Other in behavior, but in ideas, in
abstraction, in faith.
25.
We
are not discussing racism here, we are not dealing with people who seek to enslave us, no,
we are simply dealing with people who believe in God differently, or may not even believe in God, but whose behavior can easily be described as unblemished, useful even, beneficial, beneficial
for us all. That’s what we are discussing. That’s what we are dealing with.
Nothing very complicated. Nothing very bizarre. Yet… Still… However…
Nevertheless…
26.
Years
pass in the thousands hereabouts, and the question remains unanswered, the issue
unaddressed, the problem unresolved.
27.
“You know,” I say to my disciple the diplomat standing near me, observing with amusement the
charade of dismay playing itself in front of us, as the crowd form a circle around the
holy duo and try to calm them down, and as the rest of my disciples come closer to
me…
28.
“You know, I’d kill for a glass of fresh orange juice. Well, why
are you looking at me like that, even a messiah needs to drink. And believe you me, thirst
is the stepmother of all evil.”
29.
“And
what is the mother of all evil, o Master?” Asks the diplomat with a faked reverential
tone, as we both head towards the nearby juice-shop, patting each other on the back,
followed closely by the rest of the disciples.
30.
“Well, my petulant pupil, the mother of all evil is, of course,
poverty, and the perception of injustice.”
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lust for salvation, Brother, as though it were a woman, and I - a man.
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