SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2024
Eusebio Gomes
The Society of the Missionaries of St Francis Xavier (Society of Pilar) based at Pilar in Goa to which I belong, launched a mission at Kaedi in Mauritania (North West Africa) in January 2017. Mauritania is an Islamic country which has 100% Muslims.
The Christians and the people of other denominations who are working there in various government departments and private sectors hail from neighbouring countries: Senegal, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cabo de Verde, Cameroon, Nigeria, France, Italy, Spain, etc. I was commissioned to this mission of Kaedi with another confrere of Society of Pilar Fr Vincent Lobo.
The town Kaedi borders on Senegal River which divides the countries of Mauritania and Senegal. It has the presence of the ethnic people ‘White Moors’ and ‘Black Moors’ as well Pulaar and Soninke, the ethnic communities. The Muslims in Goa are addressed as ‘Moir’, which originates from the word ‘Moor’.
After we settled down in the mission house, next day we visitedthe family of Binou Choukere, who was providing services in the mission library ‘Bibliotheque du Fleuve’ located in the mission campus. In her house we were served three cups of mint tea. I did not know the meaning of the three cups of tea till I came across a fascinating book in the Mission Library at the country’s capital Nouakchott titled “Three Cups of Tea” written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. In 1993 Greg, an American mountaineer was drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village Korphe in the Karokram Mountains after a failed attempt to climb K2, the second highest peak in the world located in Pakistan.
In the house of Haji Ali, the Village Chief, he was offered three cups of tea. The meaning of three cups of tea was explained by Haji Ali to Greg: “Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan) we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything - even die.”
That evening in that Muslim family of Binou we felt at home away from our home in India. The tradition of offering three cups of tea has reached to the African countries where there is a sizeable Muslim community. They make friendship with the strangers at the serving of three cups of tea. What a wonderful culture!
I experienced the warm greeting of the Muslim people with the words “As-Salaam-Alaikum’. I was greeted every time by someone I met on the road. One day I came across a group of youngsters. One of the girls knowing that I was a missionary from India and presuming that my language was Hindi came towards me and shook her hand with me and said: “Mhujse dosti karoge?”
The Muslims of Mauritania have high regards for the Indians for two reasons: Firstly because of Mahatma Gandhiji, the man who influenced the world with his ahimsa and satyagraha and secondly because of Bollywood films which portray the culture and heritage of Hinduism and Islam.
They watch Hindi films with Arabic sub-titles. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Tabu, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone are their favourites.
