These days mark the tenth anniversary of the passing of our dear friend, Khaled Abdul Latif Al-Shaya, who left us on March 19, 2015. Since then, many of the regulars at the Bneider Chalet, where we gathered every Thursday afternoon at Abu Walid’s table that is filled with delicious food, have also departed. Abu Walid always used to say that a feast without broth is not a feast.

This is what I always ensured to serve when he allowed me to provide the food. Three years before Khaled’s passing, I wrote the following text, which may be worth publishing again, with a few modifications to stay in line with the title of the article: I went to America 40 years ago to study. At the boarding school, they assigned our classes and housing. We were told that attending Sunday Mass was mandatory. I was exempted due to my beliefs, although I explained to them that I believed in the Book, and nothing prevented me from entering the parish. They appreciated my tolerant attitude. At that time, I knew enough about my religion and about my ancestors, who never destroyed a church or killed a priest when they conquered the Levant and Andalusia.

A few months later, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations arrived. I was unsure of where to go for the three weeks while the residence was closed, and my homeland was far away. Little did I know that the school administration had arranged for three American families to host me. It was an incredibly beautiful experience.

Two months later, Ramadan began. I informed the teacher in charge at the school that I would not be sharing meals with the others, as my religion required me to fast for an entire month. I told him I would be satisfied with a sandwich at Suhoor (the pre-dawn meal before fasting) and would be happy to share my Iftar (the meal to break the fast) with anyone who wanted to join. The teacher took me to the chef and explained my situation to him. Despite my objections, the chef decided to prepare special meals for me throughout the month. I greatly appreciated this gesture because I understood the extra effort it required. Everyone accepted my situation, and their curiosity grew to learn more about what I would do after fasting for a month. I told them about our Eid customs, the family gatherings in our large home, the elders of the family distributing cash gifts to us, and the joyous feelings that came from fasting and sharing the first meal together with everyone. On the last day of Ramadan, some of my friends surprised me by waking me up at 4:00 am and asking me to accompany them to the supervisor’s house.

I was taken aback, especially since the house was completely dark. As soon as I opened the door, to my surprise, the lights were turned on and everyone inside shouted in unison, “Eid Mubarak!” The surprise left me speechless, and I am not sure what words of gratitude and appreciation I managed to mumble . They had chosen a very inconvenient time for them. It was dear and important to me, yet still inconvenient due to the time difference with Kuwait on Eid. Here, too, I was amazed by their sincerity and their understanding of what Eid means to a Muslim living away from home. I expressed my gratitude to them for their love and how they all chose to leave their warm beds at that early hour just to wish me Eid Mubarak! The supervisor then led me to the phone booth and told me that I could make a 20-minute international call to my family for free, with everyone contributing to cover the cost. I looked at them with deep appreciation, and I don’t think I could even see their faces clearly, as tears of gratitude filled my eyes.

I felt an overwhelming longing to hear the voices of my father and brothers on that joyous occasion, fully aware of the effort and cost involved in making such a difficult call to Kuwait. I recalled those moments today while reading the newspapers. I remembered the dozens of mosques that my country and my fellow countrymen have built in many countries, including Lebanon and Britain, none of which anyone has ever suggested demolishing. I felt deeply saddened when I read some news about a proposal from several MPs calling for the demolition of Christian churches in Kuwait. I wished I could contact the teachers of that American school and my friends there, to apologize to them for what the ignorant among us have said about them.