Strangers or friends?

Yesterday was Eid Al-Adha here in the US.  It is sort of the Muslim equivalent of Christmas, celebrating when Ibrahim was rescued from having to sacrifice his son Ishmael, when Allah sent a ram to sacrifice instead.

Most Christians, Muslims and Jews are familiar with this story, or a version of this story.

A few weeks ago, Miriam went to the mosque to participate in a party for a family returning to Morocco.  She came home beaming about how wonderful it was ... everyone was so friendly ... the food was so delicious ... so many people could talk to her in the familiar shared language ...  It was honestly a little threatening, and I wondered if these people would suddenly take an interest in her and start to invite her over.

Fast-forward to yesterday.  Miriam had been invited to a friend's house for an overnight.  I believed that it was in celebration of Eid, so when the evening hours ticked away and Miriam hadn't heard from her friend about spending time together, her frustration level seemed to rise.  I knew it had been hard for both girls to be away from their families and culture on such an important holiday.

At 9:30 pm, Miriam knocked on our bedroom door.  Her friend had finally called.  I spoke to the friend's mom who said, "We've been running around with all of our celebrations and just got home.  Can we come pick up Miriam now?"

Of course they could, and they did.

But I am perplexed.  If I was living in a country where another religion predominated, and there was a teenager who followed Christianity, and it was Christmas, I wouldn't go about finishing all my celebrating before I would invite them over.  I would want them to be part of my celebrating.  It would make the whole experience richer for everyone.

I'm perplexed by the lack of response from a community who could make Miriam's American experience more welcoming and familiar.