The blogger Aaron Orear has posted a lovely story of interfaith religious cooperation at his local cleaners. It’s a reminder that while there are certainly tensions between christians and muslims, there are still plenty of hopeful signs all around us that we can live and work in harmony with each other.
“I took one of my copes to the dry cleaners today. It was a bit on the dingy side…fine for the Great Vigil, seen by candlelight, but not quite up to the full light of a Sunday morning. (Mind you, I wore it anyhow.) So it was off to the cleaners to see if they could brighten it up.
The fellow behind the counter took a look, noted a couple stains and areas of particular wear and griminess. Then he asked, ‘This is for church?’ I said it was, happy not to have been asked, ‘So, it’s a dress?’ What sort of dresses do dry cleaners see, anyhow? ‘No charge for this,’ he said.
When I protested that it was going to be a pricey item (I was figuring $50 would be on the cheap end) and that I ought to pay something he said, ‘We like to do this. We’re sister religions. I’m Muslim. You’re using this in God’s name and God’s service? No fee.’
Considering how much bad press Muslim-Christian relations have gotten lately, I thought that deserved a mention. It was a small gesture, but then relationships are made up of small gestures. It was just the sort of act that reminds me that religious caricatures are just that.”
Read the rest of his story here.