Dawn: by Anwar Iqbal: “It’s so good, it made me cry,” said Jasmine, the Muslim woman who runs a bar in northern Virginia. “May God bless all these people!”
We were at the Tavern for our Saturday night gup-shupafter a long day. Since some of us do odd jobs – from driving cabs to tending tables – our meeting starts late.
“I wish we showed the same courage against hate-mongers in the Muslim world. Please spread the message,” said Jasmine, pausing only to greet us.
“And you, Mr Scribe, write about it,” she said to a middle-aged man who writes for a newspaper in Pakistan. “Let them know there’s more than the CIA in America.”
The scribe nodded but did not interrupt. Interrupting Jasmine can be risky. She has a short-temper and a sharp tongue, “but a golden heart,” as most of us often tell each other.
She is better off than most in the group and never hesitates in helping those who need it, jobs, job recommendations, money.
She stopped and started fidgeting with her laptop while we turned to our hookahs and coffees.
Categories: Americas, Anger is Satan, Attitude, Behaviour, Church, Double Standard