Of the millions of Arabic sayings out there, there is one in particular which I feel is quite important. It goes: “He who travels…learns”. A very short phrase for such a profound wisdom.

As you may or may not know eleven months ago I embarked on a journey to my mother country, Egypt. They call it Umm al-Dunya (Mother of the Earth). My physical journey is over…but my mental and emotional journey has only just begun. I came back here on my own accord, but I wish I could have…or still can… go to so many other places in the world. What interests me the most is the fact that Muslims are everywhere on this globe…and I really only wish no more but to learn more about their cultures and their wisdoms…to stay with the people…to experience what they experience…and to eat some very good foods. I am very glad that Islam makes no distinction between races and culture, and I wish only more that by learning more about each other we can become another step closer to being an Ummah…and a true brotherhood of people.

Now did you know that there are up to one hundred million Muslims living in China…under a fair amount of oppression from the communist regime which really dislikes them…kind of like here. But the interesting thing is that the Muslims of China, due to there relative isolation from the rest of the country actually have one of the most authentic and well preserved Chinese Martial Arts that exists…past down through the generations and even surviving the attempted purge of Chinese Martial Arts in the early nineteen hundreds. I thought about moving to one of the small villages…building a small house, teaching Arabic or English at one of the schools, finding a nice wife and begin my training in martial arts. The dream still hasn’t gone…but I guess I’m just waiting for my Qadar (predestination) to carry me there if it does. Only that knowledge belongs to Allah subhanna wa taala.

Salim, a friend of mine and an American brother from Virginia who we used to call “Sheikh Salim” (because of his long red beard) would tell me: “I’ve been here for four years. I used to always complain about how my tax money is going to kill Muslims in Palestine and around the world and my friends would always tell me ‘Well, Like it or leave it.’ So here I am. Nobody ever though I’d actually do it.”

In actuality, when I left for Egypt, I did so not knowing if I was ever going to come back. I would tell Sheikh Abdullah (we’ll get to who that is in a second) how I would find a small house in Kafr El-Sheikh (the small village on the Nile delta where he lived), marry a nice woman, and live a simple life by eating off the land and the farm and the sheep which I would have. He told m how impractical that was and asked me what I would do for transportation? I said if it was a short distance I would take a horse, if it was a long distance I would take a camel. He said where would you get money for clothes and other supplies? I said I would work as a teacher in the local school teaching English or math. Sheikh Saad (Sheikh Abdullah’s teacher and a friend of the family) could teach me Qu’ran and Deen. I guess from growing up in a society dominated by capitalism and the need for more…I could find very few things better, in my humble opinion, than to grow your own food, spend your days educating children, spend your nights memorizing Qu’ran…and of course, staying far far away from the misdealings of mankind.

What could be better than not contributing any more to the world’s problems…not to use gasoline and automobiles that contribute to pollution and wars, not to the pay taxes which pay for these wars, not to become another free-market consumer…not to be another tiny sprocket in the endless capitalistic machine which has taken over humanity as a whole. I know this is all just ideological dream...which really is only impossible because people make it impossible. But what ever happened to just being able to dream?

People used to ask me if I could somehow get them a visa to come to America….I would tell them that the women walked practically half naked in the streets…that their children would inevitably lose their culture and identity…and that they would spend the rest of their lives paying debts, loans, mortgages, and taxes. So then they would just ask me if I could get a visa for their son.

Yet Ustadh Ahmed (my Arabic teacher and friend), 26 and single if anyone would like to know, would tell me how his dream was to teach Arabic to people all around the world. Not for more than anything than just good deeds…so that for every verse of Qu’ran someone would recite...or for any knowledge he would leave behind…the rewards would be his after he died. Yet he told me “I don’t want to ever leave Egypt for good…Especially not Sayidda Aisha. I love the way Sayyida Aisha is in Ramadan…and the smell of the food everybody cooks…and the Masjids, and the people in the streets.”

Truly, Sayyida Aisha is a spectacular site; crowded and full of hookah cafes. But is also home to the Citadel of Sallahedin…the Refai Mosque (in which all the kings since Muhammed Ali are buried)…and the masjid, school, and grave of Imam Al-Shaf’ai. It is the oldest district of Cairo and has been in existence since the Fatimids conquered Egypt in 973AD…they call it Misr Al-Islamia or “Islamic Cairo”.

Perhaps this was all rather boring…but those are the dreams I had of traveling…and living. I ask Allah subhannahu wa taala to guide me to the right place once again…and at the right time. I miss hearing the Adhaan and walking to the Masjid for prayer. I miss hearing the Qu’ran on the radio and receiving the Salaams from people on the street. Yet wherever I end up and however much more humankind can impress me with it’s self-destructiveness…we will always have the hope of Allah subhannahu wa taala and the gift of the Qu’ran to keep us minds sane and our hearts soft. May Allah subhannahu wa taala grant us guidance.

“All that is on earth will perish: But will abide (for ever) the Face of thy lord, Full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour.” (Surat Ar-Rahman 26-27)