On "wondering". . .

Last month was my Maamoo’s seventy-eighth birthday. He spent some time before that in a Lahore hospital, as he continues to have complications due to his emphysema. This time, his face and extremities were very swollen. Ma kept in touch with him during his hospitalization; he told her that according to the doctor, his lungs were now very much like overused sponges. The reason for the severe inflammation was, in part, he had too much water in his lungs.

The hospital in which he was admitted was a “Muslim” hospital, and the doctor who took such good care of him was a Muslim doctor. I could not help but think about this when someone on this website wondered how “non-Muslim children” would be cared for in a “Muslim” hospital. It is rather unfortunate that one in his or her bitterness, or even as a joke, would think that a non-Muslim could not be treated just as well in a hospital run by Muslims, as the many Muslims were who came for “shifa” to the Christian Hospital where my father spent a part of his life working. Who can change the minds of those who demonize though? It reminds me of the story of the atheist who ranted about Christianity, and refused to believe there was anything positive about the faith, until an Orthodox priest quite simply challenged him to come stand before the altar of the church, and the cross, and repeat all the things he did – in essence to “come and see”, and if he still felt the same way, that was his choice.

The atheist accepted the challenge; he stood in front of the altar, and could not curse or utter a single word when looking at Christ on the cross. He began a transformation of mind, heart and soul based on what he saw.

Until one opens his or her mind and heart to see beyond the bitterness and hate towards someone, or something – hate, anger and bitterness are all they are going to see. People can say all they want to say, and some do without remorse a lot of the time. It does not make all of their “wondering” reality, or all of their assumptions, truth.