EKS Middle East Post 2: I asked my friend about what has happened to his way of life.

I try my best to keep in contact to some extent as many of my friends in high school as i can. I talked to one recently about how he was affected by the Coronavirus. I’m gonna call him Jason, because he asked me not to use his real name on this post, so i’ll honor his request. Jason is an incredibly humble guy, devout in religious practices and in his studies at Vanderbilt University (he graduated at near the top of my class in high school; one of the smartest people my age I’ve ever known). He was well known for being religious and sporting a wide variety of turbans of different colors both in high school and now. I recently texted him and interviewed him for this post.

I asked him what his thoughts were on the Coronavirus, and he had mixed feelings towards it. He was happy to be at home again, but he was nervous about getting sick. He also mentioned that his parents have decided to not go to worship with others in our local Islamic community out of fear of being exposed to the Coronavirus. I wasn’t really surprised for them being cautious, but Jason had reservations about his parents mandate. He exclaimed to me that it would pass in due time, and that he would be protected by his faith. Jason’s confidence was incredible; i’m not nearly as hopeful about not getting the virus as he is. He did also mention that his community started encouraging him as well as others to convert unused spaces in their homes into an area to worship during times when they would usually go out and be together at their mosque. I asked Jason how he felt about that; ‘i hate it, its just not the same’. I’ve never heard him use the word hate before ever, so this stuck out to me. It just highlighted how devout in his religious beliefs he is i suppose. The rest of the ‘interview’ was catching up on his studies and his life in general.

I don’t believe in any religion like Jason does, but after talking to him i felt strangely emboldened about fighting the global pandemic we face. He uses Islam as his sword and shield as well as lots of hand sanitizer, where as i’m just here at home washing my hands twice as frequently as normal. My conversation with him helped remind me that everyone in the world is in this living hell together, regardless of backgrounds/beliefs.