Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. -Mark Twain

Last month I went to Egypt and Jordan. I got to see places that I have read about my entire life. The Valley of the Kings, The Pyramids, The Wadi Rum, Petra, The Red Sea, Mt. Sinai and much more. I went snorkeling in the Red Sea and saw the most incredible coral and sea life. It was truly a great trip with great sights to see.
The highlight, however, was not what I expected it to be. Living in America, I have heard a lot about the Mideast and Islam. I hate to say it but I do not ever remember hearing anything good about either one. Especially from the media. I guess I took it on faith that what was said was the truth.....and I am sure it was the truth that somebody else saw through their eyes. It is not the truth that I observed with my eyes.
We were escorted through Egypt by one of the most gracious people I have ever met. He is Egyptian, Muslim and lovely. He had the most wonderful sense of humor and was extremely knowledgeable about every place we went. I enjoyed his company immensely. He shared stories about his family and I shared stories about mine. He shared stories of his faith too. I think what impressed me the most was that when he talked about God, or Allah, he spoke of Him with such reverence. He spoke of Him with such beauty and grace, that you knew he truly loved and believed in Him. He spoke of his God, the way I wish I spoke of mine. In fact, I was able to get a whole new appreciation and understanding of God. Right there in the middle of the oldest mosque on the African continent, I felt a renewal of my faith...Christianity. I saw the common bond that he and I had. I saw the common bond that I have with all of humanity. I have heard it said that Christians and Muslims do not believe in the same God. That is just a way to keep the divide growing wider. Love God, love others. Isn't that what Jesus said? He did not put a qualification on others. He did not say, "Love others EXCEPT for those that do not believe in me, oh yeah, and do not love homosexuals, Democrats, Republicans, people who do not salute the flag or people that criticize the government." Yet, I have seen too many Americans, that claim to be Christian, act like that is what He said. I found a Jesus without borders while I was in the Mideast. I looked at people that probably looked a lot like Him. I found the God of all, the God of the Mideast, America and the rest of the world. I see Him in the eyes of a Muslim, a Jew and an atheist. It does not matter, we are all His.
Since my return, I have looked for quotes for this blog. I chose the one from Mark Twain as the title of this post. I almost chose one from Malcolm X that also summed up how I feel: "The truth is the truth no matter who speaks it. Wrong is wrong no matter who does it."
I paraphrased a bit, but the gist is there.
Remember the story of the good Samaritan in the Bible? In case you are not familiar with it. Jesus praised a Samaritan for doing the 'will of the Father" even though he was a non-believer, according to the Jews. (The true root of their dislike is unknown but the Jews thought they were not pure in their religion. Sound familiar?)
We live in a country that is made up of human beings. With human beings comes human error.
The media is made up of human beings. Again comes human error. Have we gotten it wrong? I think in many cases we have. When we judge a whole region by the actions of a few, that is wrong. Don't get me wrong, I have NO desire to go to Saudi Arabia where they behead tourists
for practicing 'witchcraft.' I do not want to wander around Iraq or Afghanistan without an armed escort. But I do not want to make the mistake that the whole region is like that.
King Abdullah II from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan said it best when he said, "When you hear about a riot in Cincinnati, you do not avoid going to Boston." Same with the Mideast. You do not avoid that part of the world because of the fanatics involved with 9/11. (my words)
I know that in my wanderings, my wonderings have changed quite a bit. I now wonder what would happen to the prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness of all people if they would just travel outside of their comfort zone. I believe Mark Twain got it right, it would be fatal to those beliefs. It was to mine.