So, this tiny lady in a traditional Hijab is in front of me at the grocery store this morning...

[meowomon]

Me and my big mouth just had to say something. I said, "Excuse me, mam. I am assuming by your dress that you are a Muslim." Guardedly she looked up at me, smiled and said "Yes" with a light accent. The cashier was looking at us and I could tell she was a little worried. There was a tense fraction of a second before I could say, "I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry if anyone in this country makes you feel intimidated because of your religion." A big smile came across her face and she started to express her pleasure at what I said. The cashier chimed in and said, "Yes mam, she's right! That isn't what America is all about!"

The lady in the hijab said, "My family and I came here 17 years ago just because of the freedom in this country! We just had the holiest of our holidays on Saturday and my husband and I were afraid to celebrate!" The cashier and I both expressed our disgust that she and her family were made to feel such fear. We all started chatting about this country and how it was founded on the freedom of religion.

For a few moments three women in a grocery store at six o'clock in the morning connected and some tiny little bridges were built. Then the woman in the hijab looked at me with her glistening eyes and said with sincerity, "Thank you so much. I really needed to hear this.", and then she asked me, "Can I give you a hug?"

So there I was standing in line at the grocery store hugging a complete stranger who came to this country 17 years ago looking for the freedoms we all take for granted. Here I was comforting a woman for the sins of those who don't understand why there is an America in the first place.

Re-post from the DU lounge

[cliffordu]

1. Good, and bless ya!!!

[roguevalley]

64. I second that god bless you. Make sure everyone knows that there

were two mosques INSIDE the world trade center when it was attacked and BECAME ground zero. You did so much good. I am proud of you.

[msedano]

2. beautiful story

and so happy that no pendejos chimed in with a soupçon of hate speech to flavor the moment

[DearAbby]

3. Beautiful

I too needed to hear this. thanks for posting.

[Booster]

4. That's just so cool. We all need to hear about this kind of thing.

[Denzil_DC]

5. Enthusiastic K&R!

Good on you.

[mjane]

6. very cool

Thank you for sharing this.

[vixengrl]

7. This is something that really affects me--

The lady in the hijab said, "My family and I came here 17 years ago just because of the freedom in this country! We just had the holiest of our holidays on Saturday and my husband and I were afraid to celebrate!" The cashier and I both expressed our disgust that she and her family were made to feel such fear. We all started chatting about this country and how it was founded on the freedom of religion.

Fox Noise and some Christian right people try and claim secularists are Grinches that even want to steal Christmas, but there must be some real overlap between them and the people who made this family nervous to have their holiday. There's something really wrong with that.

Thanks for sharing this.

[AC_Mem]

8. Beautiful Story

Thank you so much for sharing it, you gave me another reason to believe that we will get through these difficult times and somehow end up okay.

Today, you are my hero.

Peace,
Annette

[ZombieHorde]

9. You rock. nt

[lfairban]

10. salam alaikum

That's about 20% of my Arabic vocabulary.

[donheld]

11. A million recommends

[SlipperySlope]

12. I'll give a K&R

[spin]

13. K&R (n/t)

[handmade34]

14. recommend +1000

[meowomon]

15. Thanks, y'all.

I forgot to add that my last words to her were "Assalamu 'Alaikum" and she smiled so nicely and said, "Alaykum As-Salām" to me. I have just been beaming about this all day. I just feel so filled with thankfulness that she received my gesture so pleasantly and we communed together as three strangers.

Also, previous to the lady in the hijab joining the line, the cashier and I were discussing the fact that I am a nurse at our jail here and her daughter was just arrested and has been there since Friday. I guess she knows now that her 18 year old daughter is in good nursing hands with me. I actually like working at a jail. Though I am not really a Christian, I really cling to a lot of the teachings of my fundamentalist Christian upbringing. I took seriously the sermon on the mount and the fact that Jesus communed with those who were considered the lowest.

[rasputin1952]

33. The power of a single act of kindness cannot be measured...

This woman most likely went home beaming as well, and ready to tell her tale of meeting a compassionate American...there are tens of millions of us out here, and we need to be seen above the hate, fear and ignorance that a minority of Americans are addicted to.

[indimuse]

16. beautiful!

knr!

[hippywife]

17. Actions like this,

everyday, are what it takes to build peace. If everyone who would do what you did, this would truly be an America to be proud of.

I wish everyone would do the same when given the opportunity, or even better, seek out the Muslims in our communities and stand with them in support, go to them and let them know they are not alone in a roiling sea of hate.

Thank you for showing the kind of compassion that has been needed for so very long. :hug:


But why is this in Editorials and Other Articles? Strange things going on around here lately.

[Enthusiast]

18. K&R!

Meowomon, you are my idea of a true patriot. Thank you for your service.

[jhrobbins]

22. Send that story to the White House-seriously-they love stuff like this.

If nothing else, it will most likely get you on the WH Christmas card list.

[babylonsister]

19. Rec'd! Thank you for sharing this, meowomon, and

thanks for expressing how so many of us feel. I'm so happy you gave that woman comfort. Kudos to you for speaking out! :toast:

[dballance]

20. Thank You!!!!!

Thank you so much for representing exactly what our Founding Fathers really meant our country to be.

[Vinca]

21. What a wonderful thing to do.

[democrank]

23. Thank you, meowomon

Really heartwarming story

[DWilliamsamh]

24. That is beautiful. I am so happy you had that moment...I have tears

Tears of happiness for you and your new acquaintance, and tears of sadness at what has happened in this country.

[disillusioned73]

25. Great story..

thank you :fistbump:

[bertman]

26. A courageous and generous act on your part. Bless you for it. Rec.

[paparush]

27. Ok, there's something in my eye..yep..definitely *sniff* must be, um, dusty in here..

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

[ThatsMyBarack]

28. Good on ya!

I've been wanting to reach out to women in burqas like that, but you beat me to it! :yourock:

[meowomon]

38. Not a Burqa. A Hijab.

I saw her beautiful friendly face.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

29. Your story will travel far

You'll tell your friends (cyber and otherwise) and the tiny Muslim lady will tell her family and friends and kindness and goodness will exponentially cascade far and wide.

Huge K&R

[jimmil]

30. I had a similar situation happen to me....

I had stopped by a quick store for something and went in. The woman cashier was kneeling on a small rug on the floor praying. I stood there silent with my head bowed while she prayed. When she finished I said that I hope she prayed for peace and for all people to respect each other. We have got to stop killing one another. She smiled, thanked me, and we chatted for a few minutes. It was just a small event. No one else knows about it. I think about it every now and then.

[ThatsMyBarack]

31. ....

:applause:

[rasputin1952]

32. ...

:hug:

[madmom]

34. You deserve a big

:hug: thank you.

[Douglas Carpenter]

35. fabulous and moving story - a very, very big kick and recommend

[AllyCat]

36. Fantastic! That warms my heart. Thanks!

[pasto76]

37. this is why I wore the uniform

My presence, my job, was to make people feel safe.

not christian white people of the upper tax bracket. Everyone. I know I was just a cog in wheels of a giant machine, but sometimes I wonder how I could have done better. Im glad folks like you are out there too.

sgt pasto

[MrMickeysMom]

39. That was great...

I attended a talk and observed prayer at a local Mosque Saturday evening.

Many of the Jewish faith were there. I was one of a few locally elected officials who came to just listen. Although I'm not what you would call religious in the sense of attending a Christian Church in this community, I noticed many who represent various aspects of the Christian faith were there, none so clearly represented by their congregation as those of the Jewish faith.

I really respect sincerity of any religion, and it's such a shame that we have to endure factions (Palin, Beck, ad nauseam). I was so happy to hear many similar comments, but REALLY HAPPY to hear of one that happened inside a grocery store.

Thank you.

[kanda]

40. beautiful

this is the kind of story that gives me hope and makes me smile. :)

[Kadie]

41. Lovely story.

Thank you so much for sharing.

[glitch]

42. Tears here.

:hug: Thank you.

[MedicalAdmin]

43. Great post - I point -- it's spelled "ma'am" non "mam"

Other than that little spelling Nazi moment of mine, great post.

[meowomon]

45. Thank you, but my spell check allowed it so it's kind of a potatoe moment.

[Swagman]

44. nice..very nice

:hi: :hi: :hi:

[stevenleser]

46. Great stuff. I live in an area with a lot of Muslims and 3+ Mosques

I make a point of wishing the folks coming out of Mosques and wearing Hijabs/Chadors/Burquas/etc. Happy Ramadan at that time of year, etc.

P.s. the area is the Astoria Park section of Astoria,NY

[WoodyD]

47. Beautiful!

Great idea -- "Hug a Hijab-Wearer."

[tilsammans]

48. K&R!!!

:grouphug:

[madmax]

49. So beautiful - you made me cry.

Here's to building bridges with love and understanding by two strangers at 6:00 a.m.

I love you meowoman! You're my kind of gal.

K&R

[aquart]

50. You did good.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

51. +1000

for your kind heart.

[Deadgnome]

52. Meowomon

You rock. It is stories like these that makes me still have a little hope for humanity.

[newtothegame]

53. Wish we could get DU'ers to treat all religious folks this way. nt

[Jankyn]

54. I left some dark chocolate...

...as an Eid ul-Fitr gift for one of my co-workers (she's a chocoholic, and I know the Ramadan fast has been rough on her), and she started crying when she came to thank me.

We should not underestimate how difficult the current Islamophobic attitudes are on our neighbors. If we're ever to have tolerance in this country, we can't afford to keep silent.

Good on you, meowomon. It's the little things that add up over time. The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.

[davidthegnome]

55. I admire your courage

Striking up a conversation with a stranger is never easy. It can be even more difficult when it's regarding what is sadly such a controversial topic these days. I hope we all have more experiences like this and help to make the muslims among us feel more welcome and appreciated.

[Turborama]

56. This is going global. I'm going to tell this story to my Muslim friends and in-laws in Indonesia

Thank you for recounting your beautiful act random of kindness.

:grouphug:

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

57. K & R May the sun always shine on you!

nt

[DirkGently]

58. Good thing you didn't meet in France; they'd have taken her

hijab to "save her from oppression."

Nice example of reaching out to another individual. People cease becoming "them" when we actually speak to each other.

[LittleGirl]

59. Wow, thank you for speaking for me

And giving her a hug. You spoke what I have wanted to say to all of my fellow American Muslims.

[Raster]

60. "We just had the holiest of our holidays on Saturday and my husband and I were afraid to celebrate!"

What have we become?

Bless. Your. Heart.

[AsahinaKimi]

61. nice

:cry: very, very nice.

[wookie72]

62. Only one thing I can say...

[barbtries]

63. and here i am crying

because this country is sooooo screwed up. thanks for sharing

[Political_Junkie]

65. Oh my.

You've brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for doing this. I have many wonderful friends who are Muslim and it hurts me to see how they have been treated since 9/11. This was wonderful of you to do this for a woman you don't even know.

[Demoiselle]

66. Now you've done it...I have this burning sensation in my eyes.

What a lovely story. How can we all do something like this? Has anybody organized an outreach organization of some kind that we can contribute to? We need to make really big scale statements of support like this so that the fear and hate-mongers can be squelched.

[DeSwiss]

67. K&R n/t

[Duval]

68. Thank you. Your story

brought watery eyes and chills. Yes, this is my USA.:thumbsup: :kick: :loveya:

[ProfessionalLeftist]

69. Now that's what it's about!

Well done. :applause:

[Riverman]

70. Beautiful and Courageous of all of you. And, Republicans Need Hugs too!

Lots and lots and lots of hugs! To melt the frozen unfeeling armour to allow their naturally loving selves to come out! Come out Republicans, Come out for God's sake, for your children, for your country!

[Poll_Blind]

71. K&R n/t

PB

[vduhr]

72. Thank you. And this is exactly why I came over...

to DU at this moment. I had just finished reading the most racist, ugly comments on another message board about Muslims and I was so angry and upset that so many people could be so ignorant and hateful (I think my blood pressure was in the dangerous zone). I knew that if I signed on to DU, I would feel better, and your story was exactly what I needed to hear to know that there are still some sane, nice pople in this country.

[sulphurdunn]

73. Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Or, as Bob Marley put it, "I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy."

[npk]

74. K&R You rock.

:yourock:

[grantcart]

75. I do alot of travelling and ever since 9/11 when I see a little store front mosque

I stop and leave a note expressing my support for their religious freedom.


I am guessing they get a lot of negative notes and one nice one may make a difference.

[Nothing Without Hope]

76. Makes a nice companion story to the one about the rescued Qur'an

There was a thread on this around here the other day. A young skateboarder in Texas zoomed in and snatched a Qur'an from the hand of a hatemongering "religious" "Christian" extremist who was about to burn it. The young man gave it safely into the hands of a local Muslim leader. Great photos and a video. I have the link to this site because I put it in my "hopeful stories" bookmarks folder, for links to things that give me pleasure and encouragement.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/12/skateboarder-extremist-burning-quran

K & R

[gtar100]

77. Awesome! That is so cool.

Too often the idiots are the only ones heard because they don't know enough to keep their mouths shut. I think we, as progressives and liberals, need to open up more in public and share who and what we are. Your story is inspiring.

[BrklynLiberal]

78. wow...just wow.

:yourock:

[Stumbler]

79. What a lovely story. Thank you for sharing it

:hug:

[HughMoran]

80. Thanks for sharing

Made me feel good :hug:

[Oak2004]

81. I and a (fellow troublemaking) friend of mine were just discussing

the possibility of declaring a National Hijab (and prayer cap) day, in which everyone is encouraged to don hijab (or a prayer cap, for the guys), as a statement of solidarity and as a way of overwhelming the bigots with targets -- sort of an "I am Spartacus" event.

FYI virtually every woman has something in her wardrobe that will do as makeshift hijab for a day. It's a bit harder for men and prayer caps, but that's no reason not to include those willing to find something that will do.

If we run with this idea, DU will be the first to know.

[meowomon]

84. I live in Florida and my hot flashes have gotten really strong lately.

I'd rather die than wear a Hijab.

[Dystopian]

82. Beautiful.

peace~

[wellstone dem]

83. I needed this. Thank you. nt

[Rhiannon12866]

85. OMG! What a wonderful story!

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! :yourock: