The struggle is the same

I've been here long enough that relationships are being forged.  

Shop owners nod as I pass by. They acknowledge my presence here.

I wave letting them know that I am passing them and that I know who they are and where they are within the maze of the Old City.

Today I did not venture out of the comforts of the Guesthouse until it was dinner time.  The streets (if you have never been the streets inside the Old City are more like alley ways and not proper streets.  People are often wall to wall in the streets. Often your personal space does not exist as people brush by you when they are passing or stop to shop) were almost empty.  Many of the shops closed within the Christian Quarter to honor the Sabbath.  For others their days were quickly winding down.  I passed the Tamara shop and the nephew of the owner asked if I wanted to stop to have tea.  I really wanted to make sure that the restaurant I wanted to dine at for dinner was still open so I told him that I would be back by.

After dinner I returned to the store, the owner, Moses and I began sharing in conversation. After several minutes of conversation, guards down he shared something very personal about himself.  He told me that his name wasn't Moses but instead it was Mohammad. I asked him why had he told me that his name was Moses.  He shared with me that he was born Muslim and for most tourist it was easier to tell them that his name was Moses in order that they might feel more comfortable in his store and purchase his jewelry.   He said "many tourist will not purchase from a Muslim and Moses allows them to think that we believe in the same God."

I immediately got it.

I knew on some level what he was talking about and why he choses not to reveal his name to others. I have the same thing when it comes to the question, "what do you do for a living?"  There are a variety of situations in which I want to crawl under a rock.  I want to change the subject.  I want to find another way of telling people what I do. Many of you have heard me say this before. I don't want the Rev. in front of my name to determine what people think about me.  I don't want it to be the way they determine if they are going to be in conversation with me or not.

This is Mohammad's struggle.  He wants to be known for being Mohammad, not by what he might or might not believe.

Costumers arrived, he went back inside to help.  He ordered three teas (they have learned by now that I like my tea with mint and sugar; again I have shared conversation with them several times this week) and his nephew and I picked up our conversation.

We spoke of the expression of hospitality and the importance of tea.  The tea isn't to make you purchase anything but is a way of saying you are welcome into this family while you are with us.  I love that. It's very satisfying to experience this sense of acceptance.

As the customers purchased their wares and Mohammad returned to our conversation he shared one last thing with me.  He confessed that he wasn't a practicing Muslim.  He said very quietly "I'm really an atheistic".  He talked about expressing that belief could do harm not just to his business but to his family.  He said this almost in a whisper "In this country, having no religion is not accepted."  His children are living abroad so they will be the last generation of his family to be here in the Holy Lands.

We are all longing to belong.

Longing to belong is one of my foundational beliefs.  Every single one of us is longing to belong, to just be ourselves.

Mohammad's struggle isn't any different than me telling others I'm a clergy person within the UMC and not being accepted because I am female.

Our countries are different but our struggles are the same.  We are all longing to belong...longing to be who we are.