A Traveling Jesus

The difference between religion and relationship often lies at the intersection of culture and experience. I am blessed to travel for a living. My travels include the US and several continents, to include Muslim countries. As a tourist, you are afforded certain liberties when visiting other countries. It is recommended to be modest and respectful of the country’s culture you’re encountering. With that being said, I visited Qatar a few years ago during Easter weekend. I was a little nervous about being in a Muslim country as a Christian woman during Easter weekend. Propaganda will have you to believe that there is no room for Christianity in Muslim countries. While it may not be the predominant religion, there is always room for Jesus. In traditional “me” fashion, I googled “Christian churches near me” not thinking I would find any and if I did maybe one. To my surprise, not only did I find churches in Doha, Qatar that identified as Christian, my hotel also decorated in traditional Easter fashion and had an assortment of food and desserts prepared in their hotel restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised simply by the acknowledgement. The “mutual respect” for the presence of people in an area with other religious beliefs was enlightening. This experience got me thinking about religion through a different lens. What if the main thing that divides us is simply culture and life experiences?

I was in Doha for 3 days before I heard the call to prayer. I had not disregarded it, I just never heard it. It was something about the third day there that changed that. It was like a call from an empty tomb, that tomb being my heart. That evening, I heard the call to prayer but experienced it differently than I imagined. I did not view it through the lens of duty or religious practice but through the lens of an opportunity to pray at an appointed time. At that moment, I felt the difference between duty (obligation) and decision (opportunity). The only difference in that moment between myself and a Muslim man/woman kneeling to pray was culture; our life’s experiences. In that moment, I chose to pray out of opportunity, and for some it is a call to pray out of discipline and duty. So, for the duration of my stay I chose to pray at the appointed time of the evening call.

Recently, I recanted this experience with a friend who is a Muslim gentleman from the country of Chad in Africa. This conversation confirmed my theory on the simple division of religion being cultural and experiential. He asked questions about how I felt seeing the women covered and did I feel strange at any point being there. I simply replied, “It was not strange but it was different.” As a black woman there with curly hair, it was assumed that I was African or an Islander never American. I caught a few stares every now and then. I noticed that everyone that worked there were immigrants or transplants from other countries. I noticed the culture code. I compared it against the experiences he shared with me as an African male growing up in a Muslim country but raised Christian.

It confirmed for me the power of choice. “Choose you this day whom you will serve”, Joshua 24:15. He researched religions and has the experience of both Christianity and chose the Muslim faith. We often make assumptions and generalizations of a religious practice based on cultural associations and affiliations. Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims will have different cultural practices and experiences in the same way that Baptist Christians and Methodist Christians will, but we are all unified under one God. Everyone does not choose Jesus but I’ve learned through my travels that there’s always a way to Him.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” -Revelation 3:20

Guest Writer - Soniael D.