How I got evangelised by an Imam

Blog XVI of Thirty Days – Thirty Blogs series

PROLOGUE: As a young boy (relatively speaking, I am young now as well), I remember reading a Ramakrishna Paramhansa story where he explains to his disciples how different religions represent different paths leading to the same destination. Each of these paths leads to the same divinity and hence each religion deserves equal respect.

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On a foggy January evening, I entered DEL only to realise that not only was my flight delayed but that I would also miss my connecting flight from DOH as a result. Hence I was checked in at a hotel in Doha for one night. Being the travel lover I am, I decided to go out on a night walk. Not only did Doha seem interesting but being the first Muslim dominated country that I had ever visited, I was curious and appreciative of different city sights such as a host of rugs, jugs and chandeliers in malls.

From a distance, I saw what looked like an impressive spiral building, no surprises then that I found myself headed in that direction pretty soon. It turned out that this building was a mosque. I went in only to find out that it had closed few minutes ago. With nothing else to do, I was looking at various exhibits in lounge when I was approached by the Imam of mosque. Initially, conversations went well and he actually praised the quality of my ‘Urdu’ not realising that I was speaking in Hindi.

However from here, conversations went from good to worse. Having come across a Hindu, perhaps Imam found it fit to indulge in a bit of evangelisation. What started off as an innocent conversation about origins of Islam ended up in a thesis on superiority of Islam over all religions. If anything, Imam only ended up accomplishing exactly reverse of what he wanted. Later that night, I came across some very interesting architectures including a building that could change colours but needless to say I left Doha, Qatar with a bitter after taste.

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EPILOGUE: few months later, I was having lunch with a friend who happened to be Muslim and explained how in Islamic religion it is taught that their religion is the only way to divinity which explains why Imam reacted in the way he did.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a real life incident that happened with me. No disrespect to any religion/person is intended.