instead follow Allah.” Snickers echo through the room at the mention
of this strange, exotic word. Beside me, Curtis snorts and then shouts,
“Allahu Akbar!” He holds up his right hand and, flapping it wildly, sends
it careening into his left. Upon impact, he shakes his entire body, his
blond hair rippling across his head, and yells “Boom!” Laughter, now, as
others in the class join in, miming Curtis. The room resounds with their
joy. Only when the initial excitement begins to die down do these people
notice that some of the class has not joined in their jeers. Following the
tightrope of those pale and sweaty gazes leads the attention of the class
back... to me.
A hush falls over the room. A pregnant pause. I take a deep
breath, stare locked onto the smartboard, and slide back slightly in my
chair, placing my back squarely against its steady frame. For all I know,
there exists only that smartboard, illuminating the dark room with the
gleam of its backlight. I speak, breaking the sacrosanct silence, voice
almost too loud in the stifling atmosphere. “Allah is just the Arabic word
for God. I’m... I’m not really sure why people make such a big deal out of
it. Allahu Akbar... it means ‘God is great.’ That’s all it means.” A shuffle of
feet. In all directions faces turn away leaving behind only the afterimage
of shame.
The teacher clears his throat. “Yes, well, um... Naveed is entirely
right. Allah is just the Arabic word for God. It would do us all good to
remember that. So yeah, the city of Mecca is located near the bottom of
the peninsula. If you can all turn to the appendix at the back of the book,
you will see that Mecca lies in the Hejaz region...”
Mr. Jackson launches himself forward, talking at a frenetic pace.
I sigh and shake my head. After a few minutes, mercy overrules my
aloofness. I turn to Curtis and meet his mortified eyes, twinkling with the
sapphire edges of tears. Voice quavering, he says, “I am so sorry bro. My
bad, I forgot. It just... it just completely slipped my mind. How could I
forget that you’re Muslim? I don’t even... I don’t even know what to say.
Can you forgive me?”
I reach out and nu FvR