This is the sort of thing people go crazy for in certain churches: a man’s car gets clamped by cowboys who want hundreds of pounds to release it, but he feels a sense of injustice, so refuses to give in. He stays in his car, which means they can’t tow it away, and he prays and he prays. And the people who worship with him turn out in a huge crowd to say, ‘No, this is not going to happen. We will resist.’ And he wins. The clampers give up, after a stand-off lasting more than a day. But here’s the thing …
… Haroon Zafaryab, who showed remarkable patience, dignity and presence of mind in this situation, is a Muslim. Not that I’m surprised by that, nor that anyone else should be, but for me – with a memory of hearing such folk tales in church as examples of God’s protection, back in the day – it just goes to show again how remarkable human beings are, and how alike, at our best. Anyway, I wrote about Haroon for the FT and here is the piece.
(The photograph is by Jean Goldsmith, also for the FT).
Good man Haroon
Thank you for such a lovely review.