Sad to say, I wasn't exactly a model of concentration throughout Friday Prayers today. I got somewhat distracted during the khutbah (in Malay, so very difficult for this hopeless linguist to follow even minimally) by some of the slogans on the backs of the t-shirts of my fellow-worshippers. Four in particular stood out for me, due in no small part to the odd variety involved. The first I consciously noticed featured the heading TEAMihsan, which seemed appropriate for the occasion. Here I should explain for non-Muslim readers that 'ihsan' is a key term in Islam, related in part to the notion of sincerity - the desire to attain excellence, a kind of perfection in worship and behaviour.
A bit less appropriate, though perfectly acceptable, was the slogan Club Med. I saw this as a bit of a contrast with TEAMihsan, though I suspect that in the long run it's possible to reconcile the two. This shirt happened to be situated right next to a guy who seemed to be wearing a Liverpool replica shirt. The name on his back read Mac Allister - unlikely to be his own name, I'm sure you'll agree. Initially I jumped to the conclusion it referred to Gary McAllister, then decided the shirt looked way too new to refer back so many years. Fortunately I then recalled that Liverpool signed that Argentinian chappie, Alexis Mac Allister (I think) and the mystery was solved.
Which left the back of the shirt that really held my attention: Vincent Van Gogh - Starry Night, with an excellent reproduction of that glorious work above the name of the great artist. Must say, this seemed to complement our worship of the Creator of all Things somehow.
So there it is, further evidence that there's little that's genuinely monolithic about my faith. If anything it embraces the glorious plurality of this world (and others, I'd venture to add.)
No comments:
Post a Comment