An inter-faith adventure: My Muslim neighbors

By DR. MINNNIE ALMADER

I am a Just Faith Graduate from Most Holy Trinity Parish in Tucson and I am a professor and counselor in Ifrane, Morocco, at Al Akhawayn University.
My career in education started out at Tucson’s St. John the Evangelist School, where I was blessed to have the Irish pastor as a role model in my life. He was supportive and willing to help my parents overcome hardships.
As the oldest of five children, my parents’ value of Catholic social teaching made me aware that an education was the key to overcoming poverty. As immigrants from Mexico, they have a strong work ethic that they instilled in their children, and I began to understand the complex issues that impact multicultural populations such as identity, social status, adaptation and community involvement.
I love to study and I have bachelor’s and master’s  degrees of Education in Counseling, and a doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Bilingual Curriculum. My work has been in education across Arizona and California. I also have a history working with immigrant families with a non-profit organization on the south side of Tucson.
In 2010, I took a leap of faith and accepted a faculty position in Morocco. It is the first time I have lived in a Muslim country. A colleague invited me to apply for this position and I am happy I was led to a different world.
I have gained new insights in this inter-faith adventure. The encounters I have with Muslims when I am away from the university are opportunities to find common values, communities that can be ambiguous.
We both praise the same God, or Allah, as found in Arabic and used in the Qur’an. For example, while I was sitting on the ferry boat returning to Morocco from Spain, I noticed a few Moroccan men taking turns to pray on a small carpet. The men closed their eyes; they appeared to be in a quiet conversation.
I looked at my wrist and saw the rosary beads I was wearing. They are light blue. I began to pray quietly too.
For my family, I thank God for my job and this amazing opportunity that brought me to Morocco. I am grateful for a safe journey by train and boat I took for the first time. I give thanks for the kind people I have met at a professional conference in Granada, Spain and, the many others who assisted me with my very poor Arabic.
As I prayed, my mind drifted back to a beautiful Catholic chapel I discovered in Algeciras, Spain. I felt peaceful and recalled the friendly man selling the wrist rosaries in the chapel. I imagined myself sitting and praying privately. Yet, these men are public in their display of faith.
I am feeling less devoted to my faith while my Muslim neighbors are moved to kneel and pray on a boat as it bumps across the strait of Gibraltar. I am thankful to them for teaching me how to be humble and grateful.
Allahu akbar is Arabic for “God, there is none greater,” an exclamation of praise, gratitude, and humble acceptance of God’s will.