Need a good carpenter?

I had a great conversation with a Muslim Sheikh (an elder, teacher, devout man) recently.  I was looking for a carpenter to repair some things for me, and as it goes in the Arab world, I asked a friend who immediately made a phone call, which set in motion a series of other phone calls, and viola, I had a carpenter at my door.  It is always good to be a guest in the Arab world, their hospitality and attitude toward service is unsurpassed.

To show me how much he wanted to help, the dear Sheikh at my door said "Even if you were a Jew, I'd have been here as quick as possible!"  Then with a somewhat amused look, he asked, "Are you a Muslim?"  And we were off... talking about spiritual things, acknowledging that we were both children of Abraham, believe in the prophets, quoting Bible and Qur'an to one another, and languishing together about the lack of peace in the Middle East.  I showed him my Arabic Bible, and one of his workers read it the whole time we talked about the carpentry work, gratefully taking it with him when I offered it as a gift.

The story above plays itself out often here in the Middle East. I love playing the role of the weird foreigner. My dear Muslim brothers are always trying to figure out the smiling Arabic speaking white dude.   I  love telling Arabs their own proverbs, challenging their expectations of Western 'Christians' and generally causing double takes.

I haven't met a Muslim who wasn't amiable when talking about spiritual issues yet.  Well, there was one time a taxi driver kicked me out of his taxi because he didn't like George Bush, but that was political, not religious...I tried to explain, I've never met George Bush, but he seemed not to care.  Most of the time, my Muslim brothers are incredibly curious about our view of the world, about Jesus, and about what the Bible says.    

Every guest we've had from the West has gone home with positive things to say about Arabs and the Middle East.  Don't believe what you hear.  Muslims are not the enemy, they're anxious to talk about spiritual things, and want to listen to you!  And if you need a good carpenter, I know your man.