After receiving my placement information, I started contacting my host family. They told me that they are Catholic and that they went to church every Sunday. I knew it was going to be very interesting due to the fact that I am a Muslim. I have to say that Christians constitute about 40% of the population in Lebanon so I am familiar with the basics of Christianity but I have never been to a church before. Before I traveled, I asked dad whether I could go to church with my host family or not. He said well of course why can't you go? After all, all our religions are alike in a way and send a message from God about love and peace but we each have a way of delivering this message. Besides, the Holy Quran mentions them and we are supposed to believe in Jesus just like we believe in Mohammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him). He encouraged me to to go church and said that I must respect their religion first if I want them to respect mine back.
My first visit to church was outstanding. I had to ask my host mom what to wear since I didn't know the dress code; for instance when we go to the mosque or pray we have to wear the Hijab. After we got ready, the entire family got in the car and we were on our way. When we got there, we met the priest and my family introduced me to him. He was very nice and welcomed me to the church. He said it was nice to have me here. Everything in church seemed very different than our mosques. I was eager to hear the lecture for I wanted to see the similarities and differences between us.
I honestly don't remember what the lecture was about for that was over 5 years ago! But I do remember that I honestly liked it. I paid attention to every single detail from the readings of the Bible to the songs to the wise words of the priest. There was something in particular that caught my attention. During the Mass, there was a time where the priest would tell people to greet each other. Every one would shake hands and say "peace" to the person on their left, right, in front, behind, near... It was amazing. I have to admit it was my favorite part during church at all times. The cutest thing was that my host family when shaking hands with me would say "salam" which is Arabic for peace (and can be used to greet people). It was a great feeling.
After the Mass was over, people would go up in line to eat some bread and drink some wine. When I asked what was that about, they explained to me that it represented Jesus's body and blood (if I remember well). Of course as much as I liked attending church I never participated in the praying or the bread&wine eating ritual. For one reason, wine is prohibited in Islam for it contains alcohol and it is mentioned in the Quran as something to stay away from. Moreover, I had my own prayers. I would listen to the Bible and everything while sticking to my religion.
Week after week, church became more and more interesting especially when they would tell stories that we have in the Quran. It was cool getting to know different versions of the same story while of course respecting all views. The priest often talked with me always asking me about how is everything going with me and answered questions I asked.
There was this particular Sunday where I remember I had a cold and a really bad cough. I was coughing so hard I thought about skipping church and staying at home. Somehow I ended up going to church. For my luck, we happened to have front row center seats that day. My host mom made a joke about how I am a Muslim sitting in church's first row when some Catholics were having a hard time finding a seat! Anyway, I was so worried about my annoying cough for I knew it would bother people and disturb the church. So, I did my best to control it. I held it in all the way till the Mass was over. I was so focused on my cough to the point that I didn't hear a word that morning, I was not focusing. But thanks to God, I managed to survive it without coughing until of course we went out and I almost exploded coughing.
Not only did church give me a great opportunity to learn about Christianity and teach about Islam, but also it was a great way to meet new people who lived near by. To be more specific, I actually met a Lebanese family living in Green Bay via church! I don't know how that happened but eventually the Lebanese family contacted my host family and we met. It was a sweet bonus.
Going to church was such an eye opening experience for me especially at that age. I was able to see that despite the differences, the religions were extremely alike. They both had the message of love, peace, and obeying God. So why do we tend to hate each other or judge each other blindly?
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