Empires of Faith

Chapter 19: What Comes Next

5 Shawwal, 1663

"And after that," Garbiel Guerrero paused and smiled to his audience. His three children, two sons and a daughter, along with his pregnant wife, all sat at attention. Sitting on the soft green couch in their modest home, they were well pleased to have Gabriel back home in Spain after his long journey to the Muslim lands in the south. After being back a few days, he was excitedly telling them all tales of his adventure; from the places he'd seen to the people he'd met; from the dangers he'd faced to the knowledge he'd gained.

"Well, Papa?" his eager young daughter, Maria, asked. "What did you do?"

Gabriel grinned. "I forgave him."

"What?" Maria and her brothers asked in unison. Their mother and father both smiled at them.

"But how?" the oldest son, Miguel, asked. "How could you forgive him after he'd tried to rob you?"

"Because that's what turning the other cheek means," Gabriel explained. "And who am I to be cruel and unforgiving, when everyday I seek Kindness and Forgiveness from God? Jesus taught love and forgiveness, and so that is what we must follow and practice as true believers."

"Oh. Tell us another story, please?"

"Ooh, yeah," the youngest child, Manuel, piped up. "I want to hear another story about when you fought in the war and slaughtered those filthy Muslim perros*, Papa."

"Where did you hear these things?" Gabriel demanded, shocked by his young son's harsh words. "Who taught you that?"

"Miguel," the boy snitched.

Gabriel turned towards his son with a stern look. "But it's true," Miguel offered in his defense. "Everyone said. I heard the neighbors all saying what horrible people they are and how they're evil and attacked us. Jose from the village said that they worship a black brick house in the desert and hate Christians because we believe in God and Jesus. He said we should hate every single one of them and that will make Jesus happy and make God happy."

"I don't want you listening to this Jose anymore," Gabriel sighed.

"But I-"

"Come here son." Gabriel beckoned for his son to come to him. He kneeled down to his son's level and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Our belief is not to be full of hatred and aggression to others. This is not what pleases God. Jesus taught us to love and respect others."

"But they all hate us, and they hate him t-"

"They do not hate us, at least not all of them. And they certainly don't hate Jesus or God either."

"They don't?" Manuel asked as he and Maria walked in closer. Gabriel sat on the ground, crossing his legs and motioning for his children to join him on the floor. He sat young Manuel in his lap and looked to the other two as he spoke.

"They do not. In fact, Muslims believe in Jesus just as much as we do. They respect him and believe him to be one of the greatest Prophets of God. As for God, they believe in Him as well. They do not worship any stones or building or any other object. They worship God Alone. They're prayer is directed towards the Kab...Ka'b...Ka'bah as a centering and unifying direction. There was another reason, but I forgot it, I'm sorry. In any case, the Muslims are not too different from ourselves. The differences between our beliefs and there's is that they seem to believe in a Prophet after Jesus. His name was Muhammad."

"Oh I heard about him," Miguel said raising his hand. "Jose said he was-"

"I don't want to hear what Jose said. I want you to know that we should not disrespect him, nor his followers. From what I've learned on my journeys, he taught very good things, similar to our beliefs even. He preached about the Oneness of God and worshiping Him alone. This too was the Message of Jesus. And he taught about fairness and equality. So we should not be so quick to dismiss he and his followers. We respect them and accept our differences."