The Islamic Bulletin Volume X X No. 25 Page 4 restaurant owner came and told us that his wife felt so much peace watching us pray. We were about to leave but they insisted that we have café con leche (coffee with milk) and apologized for their prior behavior. San Francisco, a small town in the mountains, had never encountered Muslims nor heard about Islam. Alhamdullilah, Brother Nelson gave an introductory talk about Islam and then talked about Mary’s (Maryam’s) pregnancy in the Quran. We had distributed dates, brought from the States, and offered them to the locals. Nelson donated the Spanish Quran to the owner of the restaurant who had expressed interest in reading it. His wife ate some of the dates and wanted to choose a name from the Quran for their newborn. They asked us to return to their city in several years so we could talk to their child to explain the importance of the name they chose. We drove to another town as we saw a sign for delicious fresh fish. We stopped to eat at this restaurant near a lake. After eating a delicious meal of fried fish and salad, we decided to make our prayers there. After praying, the locals asked us to pray for them. We told them that we pray to God directly and that they, too, can do the same. One parent insisted that we pray for her sick child who had been ill for many days. We weren’t prepared for this but our amir (leader) told us that we could all collectively make dua’a for this child. We made dua’a and read Surat al Fatiha as there is shifa (cure) in this surah. By the time we finished making dua’a, other people had gathered around us asking us to make prayers for them, too. We told them that we were normal people who were seeking help from God. We explained to them about the oneness of Allah and the basic principles of Islam. Two people wanted to take their shahada. We gave them some Islamic materials in Spanish and directed them to the closest Muslim community. We finally arrived in the city of Medellin. Our stay in Medellin was a very pleasant memory for many of the brothers. We were warmly welcomed by the local Muslims who were so excited to have a foreign group visiting them. We bid farewell to Brother Nelson who had to get back to his job and family. Our stay in Medellin was busily spent visiting the Muslim community which consisted of families from the Caribbean and some native Pakistanis, in addition to native Colombians. The community in Medellin is very active. During our stay here, a Colombian converted to Islam and the next day he brought his wife who was also ready to convert, Alhamdulillah. We continued by van on our way to Cartagena and while stopped at a traffic sign in the city of Bucaramanga, people were selling what looked like roasted peanuts. The local Colombians who were traveling with us wanted to stop and buy these snacks, excitedly offering them to us. We were told they were yummy so naturally we were eager to try this roadside snack. However, upon closer examination, they didn’t look like peanuts; they looked darker than the ones we have in the US. They invited us to go ahead and taste them. We asked what they were. They then laughed. “If we tell you what they are, you will never eat them.” That was our clue to not eat them! “Go ahead, take a bite and let us know what you think?” They told us that the delicious snack tastes like burned popcorn and is super crunchy. With each bite, there is a crackle sound. Realizing that we were not going to join them in the eating of this snack, they finally told us what they were eating, “hormigas culonas” (toasted queen ants)!! We decided to pass on this delicatessen, while our fellow local Muslims munched on—the cracking sounds evident with each bite. It seems that Colombians have been eating ants for centuries. We finally arrived in Cartagena and then took small canoes to the nearby island of Playa Blanca, which was inhabited by Muslim fishermen. We were surprised to see how Islam had reached this island in Colombia. The island was beautiful, with the reflection of the brilliant sun shining on the sand and sea. The ocean had the most striking colors of blue you had ever seen. Located on this island, there was a small house that had been converted to a mosque. The local imam there was a Colombian convert who had donated his house for a mosque. Brother Carlos was so strong in his dawah efforts that he had introduced forty houses in a radius around the mosque to Islam. He had even been interviewed by the local TV station; Brother Carlos said that the way he attracted people to Islam was how he dealt with his neighbors. And if a person had good qualities and was honest and generous, then your friends and neighbors will look to those qualities and want to emulate them. His house got too small to accommodate the growing population of Muslims so he built a larger prayer place (musala). We visited the local Muslim fishermen and they were so happy to see us; the fact that we had come to visit them from so far had truly touched them. They constantly supplied us with fresh coconuts and other delicious tropical fruit. We passed the warm evenings gathering with the local Muslims, sipping delicious coconut juice and reminding the Muslims about their duties and obligations to keeping Islam active. Most of the people on this island were fisherman by profession and very humble people. Their main diet consisted of fish. Since we were considered their special guests, they crossed the island just to bring back halal meat so as we would not tire from eating fish. As a special treat for the brothers, the amir (leader) of our group allowed us to go swimming in the clear blue ocean. He must have seen us sweating in the hot weather and without cold, icy drinks. This has been an experience that we’ll never forget. Just before leaving the island, a Muslim brother donated an electric water cooler, either as an encouragement to stay longer San Francisco, Colombia Cartagena, Colombia
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