Tahir on Culture, Koran, Sex and Sin

Tahir notes that Western Culture is a bit reserved and this connotes coldness.  Interestingly enough in Dubai he frequents a restaurant run by Afghans and Pakistanis.  I assume the customer base must be similar.  It is the custom in this type of restaurant that if you eat your food and want some more of that dish, they will give more… for free.  Just yesterday he helped a black African negotiate this request – they didn’t speak each other’s language.  This point to another word that seems close to his heart: humanity.  But this, he means basic human goodness.  Tahir says in his country – well, at least in his province in Pakistan -  if you arrive at his door at noon he MUST give you lunch.   

I digressed onto the topic of the day.  It seems to me that the Koran is unrelenting in its repetition regarding the hell and torment that disbelievers will suffer come Judgment Day.  I note to him that I would be happier with a religion such as Buddhism that stresses the oneness of life and the love and compassion that results.  Again, Tahir tells me that I focusing far too much on what is seen as a negative.  But he does say that the Punishment agenda is a legitimate poise.  It is like laws in the land forbidding crimes.  They act as a strong deterrent.  And I guess in this case, the crime of not believing in the Koran or the Prophet is a crime.  I didn’t raise my objection that in the case of the Koran, the punishment seems far more severe than the punishment of life in prison.  Maybe another day.  But here he did shift rather quickly into a new thought and it caught me by surprise.  He told me that I needed to go beyond thinking because beyond thinking was where Fate and God can be found.  I didn’t expect this one.  Certainly there is poetic if not literal truth to this.   

I also raised my shock and dismay (well, I sort of pretended that this was how I felt) in his suggestion that if he were to come for a visit to the US, that I introduce him to women for sex.  I noted that he was encouraging me to sin by promoting his sin.  He seems to think this is forgivable, but being gay is not.  Another point to pursue.  I informed him that I wouldn’t even know any women like this, and he thought this was a good thing as far as my scorecard is concerned.  Nonetheless, he felt undeterred with his agenda because he is very familiar with Craig’s List and seemed content knowing he could meet women that way. 

This issue of good sex bad sex comes up a lot and I have to confess that I like this topic if only because it is red hot in most cases.  Carnal desire is not particularly negotiable at least in terms of one’s internal feeling.  I had two friends over last week and told him (truthfully) that they were straight.  He was glad of this because then I wouldn’t be sinning.  

But then there was the discussion with my surgeon.  Two weeks after hip replacement (Tahir knows of this and wishes me to heal) there is a discussion regarding hip movement restrictions.  Also, can one now have sex?  Well, I was told that there was no restriction on sex from this moment on (clearly within the laws of common sense).  Well, Tahir was sad that my sex restrictions had been lifted.  I am flattered that he seems to care so much!