Excerpt from When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to Your Left: Metaphors of Islamic Humanism (Imady): From "Bashir Al-Bani, Orator of the Grand Mosque of Damascus"

 


Bashir Al-Bani, Orator of the Grand Mosque of Damascus

... Al-Bani’s delicate sensibility often surprised me. This quality could be seen not only in the way in which he seemed to be always worried about people who were suffering but also in his concern for animals, cats in particular. For over seven years, I worked as a Program Officer at the Syrian Office of the United Nations Development Program. In this capacity, I was responsible for a number of development projects supported by UNDP in Syria. 

One day I was asked by Al-Bani about the feasibility of initiating a domestic waste recycling program in Damascus. I said I would investigate it but that environment was not one of the areas that I supervised. Little did I know that Al-Bani’s request was destined to be repeated with ever increasing momentum until the question, “What have you done about recycling?” became one that was automatically asked upon my arrival at his home. 

 “Why?” I finally asked, “are you so concerned about recycling?” 

“The cats, of course.” 

 “The cats???” 

 Al-Bani proceeded to explain to me that he had seen cats eating from the large garbage containers (which are placed at every major street corner in Damascus), and it occurred to him that something must be done to protect them from the pieces of glass that are thrown within the same container. In short, all this was to ensure that cats had a glass-free lunch! 

Years later separate containers for plastic, glass, and paper were, indeed, placed at road corners in Damascus, but, sadly, it was not because of anything I had succeeded in achieving. ...

For more posts about Dr. Omar Imady and his books, click HERE.

If you want to help cats -- and can -- follow the Twitter account of Peter Askin. He posts about cats in need of help every day.


When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to Your Left: Metaphors of Islamic Humanism
recently won the 2020 Legacy Award for Religion
in the Kops-Fetherling International Books Award competition. 




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