We will meet again, Insya Allah!
For a Chinese Muslim like me, Saudi Arabia felt like home, even though there were many new things to adjust to. At first glance, it did not seem as exotic as I had imagined. On the streets of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's second largest city, one can find Carrefour, Ikea, McDonald's and KFC.
But the difference becomes apparent at prayer time. Five times a day, when the call to prayer rings out, all shops are closed. Everybody is supposed to stop his or her activities and pray whether in the mosque, at home or on the street.
God willing
Nowhere is this religiosity stronger than in Mecca, especially during the haj when millions gather from all over the world. Haj was also what I was in Mecca for, both as a reporter and as a Muslim pilgrim from China.
In China, all Muslims pray to the west the direction of Mecca but in Mecca, Muslims pray in different directions, for they all surround and face the Kaaba in the Masjid al-Haram, the center of the Muslim world. The sight of the streets of Mecca filled with people deep in silent prayer is an unforgettable one.
I had wanted to buy prayer articles in Mecca thinking they would be holier than those available in China, but a short shopping tour soon changed my mind. Almost everything from caps and ihrams to beads and electronic Koran were made in China.
"Chinese goods have taken over the market here," said my Saudi friend Yahia, pointing to his Chinese-made Arabian headcloth. "You give anything to the Chinese, and they can make an exact copy at half the cost."
As a Chinese Muslim, I received excellent treatment in Saudi Arabia. When I bought some cassettes of Islamic prayers, the shop owner sent me another one as a gift.
A middle-aged man told me to be careful with my bag as I prayed in a Jeddah mosque. "Islam is good, but people are not always good. It's like your fingers. They cannot be the same," he said.
Saleh Ali Mohammed |
When I asked for the post office in Mecca, 26-year-old store manager Sameer Sindi escorted me all the way to it, halfway across the town.
"I often meet Chinese Muslims here. It's not easy for them to come to Mecca, and some of them cry when they finally get here," said Sameer, a Pakistani born in Saudi Arabia.
When I gave my Saudi friends my contact details and invited them to visit China, they would often say "Insya Allah", or "God willing". This is a common Arabic expression and one of the first I learnt. Indeed, Saudi Arabia is a long way from China. "Was it not God's will that I was here?" I thought.
I soon discovered the expression was not limited to convey a good wish. Whenever I expected an affirmative answer, my Saudi friends seldom said "yes", but always "Insya Allah".
For example, "Are the computers connected to the Internet here?" "Insya Allah."
"Are we going to Medina tomorrow?" "Insya Allah."
"Shall we set out at 3 o'clock?" "Insya Allah."
I understood another meaning of the phrase: "If it doesn't work, it's not my fault but God's will."
Arabs seem to work to a different concept of time. In China, I am not considered a punctual person. I am late all the time, but usually by about 20 minutes. It is a longer wait here one or two hours.
However, such delays proved to be a virtue in one instance. On the morning of January 3, I had to send some pictures back to my newspaper from our hotel in Jeddah, but sending e-mails took much longer, with the earthquake in Taiwan disrupting Internet connections throughout Asia.
A group of us journalists were supposed to leave Jeddah for Mecca that morning for a final visit to the Kaaba, as required by the haj. A bus arranged by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Saudi Arabia was scheduled to leave the hotel at 10 am.
When I finally sent out my pictures, it was already 11. I rushed out of the hotel lobby. Allahamdulila (thank God), the bus was still there!
Yemeni friend
My Yemeni friend Saleh Ali Mohammed proved to be an exception to the rule. Whenever I called him from my hotel, he always showed up in 10 minutes.
I soon found out the reason for his punctuality. Whenever he drove me around Jeddah, I never forgot to wear my seat belt. Like most drivers here, he believes in speed. I saw many cars with scratches and dents from bumps.
"It's not a problem here if you bump into, or are bumped into by, another car," said Saleh. "We just let each other go."
I met Saleh on the flight from Hong Kong to Saudi Arabia. He was returning from a trip to South China's Guangzhou, which he visits regularly to import cosmetics for sale in Saudi Arabia. The 38-year-old comes from Yemen but has been living in Jeddah for 18 years.
I saw Saleh every day. He took me to the Red Sea, the old district of Jeddah and modern shopping malls. He also taught me a lot about the Arabic way of life.
"Every Chinese I meet asks me how many wives I have, but actually 99 percent of Arabs have only one wife," he said.
I was scared when Saleh held my hand as we strolled Jeddah's streets. He explained that it was common for two Arab men to hold each other's hands in the streets. Fortunately, Saleh didn't kiss my cheek like he did with his fellow Arabs. I reckoned that since I was a Chinese Muslim, it was okay to make a departure from some customs.
Saleh started his day in a small teahouse in the Al-Saheefah District of Jeddah. I accompanied him on several occasions. We had some serious discussions at the teahouse. Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's execution was a hot topic.
"I hate Saddam, but I have to say he died with dignity," said Saleh. "Every man should die with dignity."
Saleh has three daughters. The oldest one was born on September 11, 2001, the day of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in the United States.
When I asked Saleh's opinion of "911", he said: "Do you think I'll be happy? In this world, not only Muslims are brothers. Everybody should be brothers. How did Islam spread to Malaysia and Indonesia? It was not by terrorism. It was because the Arabs who went there a long time ago were respected for their good deeds, so their religion was also accepted."
I thought if everyone in the world could communicate like Saleh and I did, there would probably be fewer problems. It was a pity I did not have more time to spend with Saleh. When I saw him for the last time, he once again showed the Arabs' hospitality by giving me his Arabian robe. It fits me well.
Two weeks passed quickly, and soon it was time for me to go home. It rained on my way to Jeddah airport, a rarity as it rains only two or three times a year in Jeddah.
I didn't buy many souvenirs in Saudi Arabia (they are, after all, mostly made in China), but I took home some knowledge of the Arab world, which does not seem so faraway now.
And, I know that I will meet Saleh soon, since he has already booked his flight to China for late January.
(China Daily 01/19/2007 page20)
