Restoring Faith in Humanity

Ali Mohammadian and his pupils, who shaved their heads in solidarity with a bullied pupil. Photo: Bahman Shahbazi For Tasnim News

I turn on the television and watch the news. I open the papers and read the headlines. I browse the internet and look at the stories. It can be rather soul destroying. Most of what I find is related to death, destruction, war, natural disasters, corruption or cruelty. We are constantly inundated by racial discrimination and religious hatred.  It makes you wonder what kind of world we live in where you need to dig deep to find a story that uplifts you or brings hope or just makes you smile. It is hardly surprising that it can often bring out the cynic or doom mongerer in even the most optimistic of us.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to read something that reminded us how compassionate people can be, or showed us their infinite capacity to love or amaze us with the honesty they are capable of? I decided to trawl the internet to see if I could find some events or stories that would make me feel like there was hope for us yet and I was delighted by some of the stories I came across.
With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I thought I would share a story I read a while ago which at first I thought was fictional but turned out to be true. It was about a woman who had been married for forty six years and every year her husband would send her a bouquet of red roses. Sadly he passed away and on her first Valentine's Day without him she received a dozen red roses which upset and angered her as she felt the florist had made a mistake. When she called to inform them of this error they told her that her husband had prepaid for flowers to be sent to her for years to come. When she finally opened the card that came with the flowers it simple said “my love for you is eternal”.   Even the most hardened sceptics amongst you have to admit that it is touching to see that there are still people in this world who make you realise that enduring love is not just a myth.
Recently there was a story about an Iranian School teacher Ali Mohammadian who decided to shave all his hair off to show solidarity for a student of his who appeared to have been bullied due to his baldness after an illness. The teacher noticed that the eight-year-old Mahan Rahimi was becoming withdrawn and somewhat isolated from his peers and felt that the cause of the bullying was because of his baldness. Other teachers in his place might have told the other students off or tried to talk to the young boy but instead Mr Mohammadian took a novel approach and shaved his head. He posted a photograph of himself with Mahan on his facebook page saying "Our heads are sensitive to hair, Mahan had become isolated after going bald, smile had disappeared from his face and I was concerned about his class performance. That's why I thought about shaving my head to get him back on track."  The school teacher had no idea that his simple message and thoughtful gesture would be shared by so many people and that he would garner so much support and praise for his act.
What happened next was astonishing, not only did the bullying stop but the other twenty three students in Mr Mohammadian's class shaved their heads as well in support of Mahan. In fact the school teacher's message found its way to the Iranian media and ultimately Iran's President Hassan Rouhani who praised Ali for his action. The government has also offered financial support for Mahan Rahimi's medical treatment.
Many people talk about 'karma' and believe that 'what goes around comes around'. The story I read about a homeless man in Boston who found a backpack full of money but handed it in to the police really is a perfect example. Last year homeless man Glen James found a bag full of cash and travellers cheques worth over $42,000 but instead of keeping it which I am sure many people would have done, he handed it over to the police who were able to track down the owner. Mr James, who used to be a Boston courthouse employee, said that he would not have kept "even a penny" of the money he had found in the backpack even if he had been desperate.
After reading about the homeless man's honesty in the media, a complete stranger Ethan Whittington from Virginia was so impressed he decided to start an online fund to raise money for Glen James. The crowd funding website attracted a huge amount of interest and managed to generate around $110,000 in donations for Mr James!  One act of honesty by a homeless man and one act of kindness by a total stranger really goes to show that good deeds bring their own rewards.
With all the religious tension brewing across the globe it was heart warming to come across an article dealing with a Muslim community giving a helping hand to a Jewish one and that too in Northern England.
The trustees of the Reform Synagogue in Bradford, a Grade II listed building built in 1880, faced the prospect of having to close its doors to their ever dwindling congregation. This was due to serious water damage to certain parts of the building and a major leak in the roof. It seemed likely to the Synagogues chairman Rudi Leavor that they would have to do the unthinkable and sell the once magnificent place of worship and force them to travel ten miles to the nearest synagogue.
However, the Muslim community in Bradford decided to intervene and initiate a fundraising effort to make sure the future of the synagogue was secured. The initiative was taken by the secretary of a nearby mosque, the owner of a curry house and a locale textile magnate. The money required to address the leak and water damage was raised and given to the synagogue. This gesture has started a tradition of collaboration and mutual respect within the area whereby the Muslim community invites the Jewish and Christian community for Ramadan and the Jewish community does the same for Oneg Shabbat (Friday night dinner). Zulfi Karim, secretary of Bradford Council of Mosques stated that, "Rudi is my new found big brother... It makes me proud that we can protect our neighbours and at the same time preserve an important part of Bradford's cultural heritage."
It was wonderful reading not just these stories but the numerous others that I came across to see that kindness, generosity and honesty transcend all boundaries, whether they are social, economic or religious. People like Ali Mohammadian or Glen James show us what we are really capable of.