Hummus and humans

Got a second for a fun story?

I was in Minnesota earlier this week to see family and found an Arab bakery just around the corner from our Airbnb. When you live in a place like I do, you gotta take opportunities to hang with Muslims when you can. (My part of southern Colorado is a “Muslim-desert!”) Plus, with Eid (the celebration at the end of Ramadan) coming up this weekend, I thought things might be bustling there. 

I popped in on our way out of town for road snacks and a look around. A staff member made eye contact, but I had to look at the hummus display for an abnormally long time while he wrapped up a phone call. 

When he came up, I asked for a hummus recommendation. He advised the basil version and he was not wrong! Of course I was not primarily interested in hummus, but rather him! 

I asked a couple questions and discovered he was from Palestine and had been in the US for forty years. I told him I wasn’t a Muslim, but wondered it if was ok to give a Muslim an Eid greeting. He said of course, just say “Eid Mubarak!”

So we’ve got emphatic permission from a great guy. Let’s do it. Give whatever Muslims God guides across your path in the next couple of days a hearty, “Eid Mubarak!” (Basically, Happy Eid!)

Since you might not see any Muslims in person (Odds are not good where I am in rural Indiana!), grab the image at the top of this email and splash it on your socials. I’m going to break my low key Lenten Facebook/Instagram fast to post it. I expect it will go viral! 

And to wrap up the story with my new friend, I left the grocery with twice as much yummy stuff as I actually purchased and his card. Guess who’s gonna get an Eid Mubarak email this weekend!