No Swastikas - April 16 2023

 

No Swastikas

April 16 2023

The small mosque

is a squat brick building

on a corner lot

you wouldn't notice but for the cars

lining both sides of the street

night after night.

Ramadan,

and after the daylong fast

they celebrate.

No minaret

architectural flourishes.

No call to prayer

that might alarm the neighbours.

It used to be a small evangelical church;

same God

different rituals.

The building hasn't changed;

it's still homely

and in need of work.

Or, as the faithful might assert

modest

in the eyes of God.

Which reminds me of my childhood,

when our synagogue

shared space with the Lutherans;

same sabbath

different days.

So when I read about the bomb

in that Texas mosque

I thought about the families

up the street

communally breaking the fast.

About security

being an old man

greeting worshippers at the door.

While agnostics, Christians, and Jews

and even the odd atheist

were casually walking past

with children, dogs, and groceries

or eyes on their phones,

either giving a neighbourly nod

or not even noticing.

No explosives.

No spray painted swastikas.

Not even a keyed car.

It's gratifying that this is still, by and large, a tolerant country. Although “accepting”/“welcoming”/“multi-cultural” might be better words, since ”tolerant” can have a connotation of grudging and strained. We have our incidents and outliers, and borders can't contain poison, but the overwhelming sentiment is mostly ecumenical. Even the unobtrusiveness of the mosque suggests to me not a fearful people trying not to attract attention, but rather a considerate one uncomfortable with imposing on their neighbours.

I couldn't resist having some fun at my expense. The “odd” atheist, because “odd” can be taken both ways: we fall through the cracks when dividing the world by religion; and we're also free thinkers, who must by definition be somewhat eccentric!