A Journey of Faith and Acceptance

chapter 2: The Backlash

Omar had a moment of calm after converting, which was, however, short-term. He expected some estrangement and probably even a hard time from the people surrounding him. However, he was not prepared for the subsequent blazing hostility. His small town, like most places of less than 1000 people, was deeply rooted in the Christian religion, which made it impossible for such an alien person to fit in whom they did not recognize.

It was not long before the storm broke, and it happened at school, of all places. From the beginning, Omar was a boy who was the apple of the teacher's eyes, who was one of the most intelligent kids at school, and who also was very good at being friendly and kind. Now everything was different. "Brothers, like his friends, started to slowly move away from him. The boys who were doing things together with him were no longer talking to him. The usual interactive way of hanging out was replaced by virtual silence and nervous looks. He used to be much in the school group but the roof of the physical world came down alarmingly, which made him feel that they do not include him in conversations, he is no longer their preferred person to hang out with after school.

Not only was there a change among his peers, there was also a change in his teachers. The teacher who normally applauded Omar for his inquisitive nature seemed to look at him with pity and distrust. Mrs. Reynolds, his history teacher, praised him always for his inquiries and for raising matters that may be controversial, now avoided fixing her sight on him at all costs. Omar thought what could be more ruthless than students who know each other as well as they know themselves, losing their respect for others by sheer popularity. He realized he was right; his conversion had made him a stranger in the place where he had for a long time belonged to.

The things got worse after school instead of better, as he secretly hoped. The town, with its small population and the like it is, was spreading so fast the news of Omar's conversions. His neighbors, who had known him from babyhood to manhood, were now two sides for him. The smiles and hands that had earlier greeted him warmly seemed to be replaced with cold stares and catty gossip. The local pastor, who up until now had been so nice to Omar's family, on that Sunday made a ringing reference to the dangers of "false prophets" and "the loss of one's way." It is clear from that such a sad view of the miracles of the monotheistic religion as the entrance of Islam into the world can be heard.

Nonetheless, the most intense encounter occurred a certain afternoon when Omar was heading back home from school. A bunch of boys that had been his friends since his childhood caught him in their plans. They were the kids he grew up with and shared secrets with and not only did they play soccer with him in the park. However, today, their faces were twisted with the emotions of fury and a feeling that appeared like treachery.

“What’s the matter with you, Omar?” one of them yelled, stepping forward menacingly. “Why would you even think of converting? This is America, not some terrorist country!”

The twist in his stomach became tight. These boys had been with him for as long as he could remember, but now they were treating him as if he were someone they had never met before. He attempted to explain that his conversion was a personal matter and not a rejection of the nation, but they were not interested in listening.

A guy who used to be the comedian of the group took a shot at him and said. “To put it simply, are you going to start bombing places? Was that what they taught you at that mosque?”

Those words hurt. For the first time in his existence, Omar felt utterly alone. He wanted to hit back, to talk and defend himself and his faith; he knew, however, that anything out of his mouth would only make matters worse. Instead, he turned the other way and walked away, dejected.

Things were not any better when he came home. Although his parents were, in their own way, in favor of him, they obviously did not feel good about what he had decided. They could not realize what drove him to make this decision and they were anxious about its consequences in his future. His mother was the one who had spoken her heart out frequently, saying, “Omar, we love you no matter what you do, but why did you have to go for something that brings hardships into your life?”

In observations of the study, the signals produced in the insects were evident to the eye through the various combinations that can be seen on a single surface. The different signals can be placed on the same surface through different layers and thus the signals are mixed by being placed in one place. The overview of the processes that the research was carried out was given, which was often based on the field studies and laboratory as well as field tests. In this sense, it can safely be concluded that the outcomes might be biased by various factors because the realities in nature are extremely diverse and dynamic. One of the numerous such factors is the change in the environment which might instantly make a signal meaningless due to the change in the conditions in which it was seen and heard. Also, the condition of the social environment is rather specific which might be detrimental to a very certain kind of signal. For all these reasons, the hunting of the interesting signal in the interesting place is not very specific and might not be very easily repeatable.

In these years we have always received interviews from interesting musicians like Ewan McGregor, Judith Butler, the Young Fathers as well as a space scientist from Edinburgh University via webinars. Until now we had no idea that we would ever have any more fun on the stage than in the lectures.