Ventured off on my own yesterday to Westminster and ...got to watch the House of Commons in session at the Palace of Westminster! It has been home to Parliament for over 500 years, and it was a royal palace for around 500 years before that, home to Kings and Queens of England. What architectural integrity as well! One of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen inside and out. Then I took a walk in a park across from the parliament and I was surprised - and electrified by what I saw... There is a section of the park the begins with an enormous statue of Winston Churchill, flanked by statues of other British leaders of the past, such as William Gladstone... And when I got to the end of the Brits there was a statue of (drum roll...) Nelson Mandela! Nelson Mandela at the heart of British power! I went back into the Parliament building and told some of the guides how I was so happy and surprised to see the great African Mandela looking out over the kingdom of English Kings and Queens. I then asked, a bit abashedly but with sincerity, Now where is the statue of Mahatma Gandhi? I explained that I thought he should be there as well, since he came to this exact area to courageously plead for freedom and self-determination for Indians. They responded that there was a statue of Gandhi, but it was a few blocks away... I just had a feeling he was close... As I started to walk down the sidewalk, in an area with tens of thousands of people, I unexpectedly ran into several of my Muslim brothers. I decided to accompany them to the London Fazi Mosque, the oldest purpose-built mosque in London, for evening prayers. These friends were from Tunisia, Philippines, Singapore, and Marshall Islands. When we got on the packed London subway, we were approached by an Ahmadiyya Muslin man, who said he knew who we were by the joy in our faces, and he invited us to his home near the mosque for Pakistani delicacies and juice. So gracious, and we enjoyed great fellowship and conversation. We then went to Fazi Mosque and participated in the Maghrib prayer, which is done after sunset.... On the way back from mosque to the Ahmadiyya seminary where we were staying, I sat beside a friend from Singapore, and discovered that many people from the country speak Sing-lish. And, of course, I learned some interesting things about Singapore, historically and contemporary...
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 11:47:20 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015