Many years ago I was host to a devout Muslim woman who had come to England from Algeria to improve her English while she was taking a course at a local college. We talked a lot, particularly about our religions. We rejoiced when we found something we had in common, like our love for one omnipotent, omnipresent creator. One day she told me the beginning of the Koran:Bismillahi Rahmaani Raheem (In the name of Allah, the most beneficent the kindest—the most merciful). I liked this phrase and memorized it. And knowing it has become a bond between me and Muslims I have met.
One brief encounter was outstanding. It happened when I was on vacation in Turkey during the war in Lebanon. On the outskirts of Istanbul I saw a teenager in school uniform waiting at a bus stop. I asked him where I could get a bus to the town center. After he gave me directions, I thanked him and left. I had not gone far when a sudden heavy rain fell. As I opened my umbrella the youngster caught up with me. I invited him to join me under the umbrella, but he declined. He said he had only come to make sure I got the right bus. I was touched by his thoughtfulness and said so. When he again turned down my offer to come under the umbrella, I intuited that he was a Muslim and coming so close to a woman he didn't know would not have been appropriate.
As we walked together, the call for prayer came from a nearby mosque. Mostly men were hurrying toward it. When I suggested that he join them, he replied that he could pray anywhere, at home, at school, or in the street. I told him I wasn't a Muslim but that I also pray frequently and anywhere. He smiled and nodded. I felt we had come mentally close through our love for God/ Allah. Spontaneously I said, "Let's pray together to the one and only God" and felt impelled to add: Bismillahi Rahmaani Raheem. Startled, he looked at me. His eyes lit up and reverently he repeated the three words I had spoken. Then he joined me under my umbrella. We prayed silently in our different languages as we walked so close together that our arms touched, but this physical closeness had become unimportant. So had words.
