Ramadan

It's been a year since I started volunteering here in Minneapolis, teaching math to adults. Most of my students are refugees from Somalia, hence most of them are Muslims.

Today I arrived in class and, due to Ramadan there was only one student. She had a book in front of her. Not a math book, though: she was reading the Koran. 

I, atheist, asked her if she could read a bit for me. 

"-I just wanna hear the sound it has", I said. 

She smiled and nodded.

I sat by her side and then she started reading in Arabic: I closed my eyes. It was like hearing a beautiful song for the first time. Because she was not just reading, she was singing! It sounded like a Bach suite for cello or something as beautiful. 

She kept reading for a few minutes and throughout the reading I kept my eyes closed, enjoying those beautiful sounds that came from the God she believes. 

(Needless to say: it was in Arabic and I couldn't understand a word).