Islamic Retreat (Day One)

Islamic Centre of Barrackpore, Trinidad

We arrived at 6AM Wednesday morning with a small group from the US, including my patient wife. There were some on our flight from San Francisco, some from Michigan and some from New York. We spent the day at an Islamic Centre near Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad. Throughout the day guests arrived from all around the world, some from the UK, some from France, from Egypt and from India and others. One woman from Idaho converted to Islam three years ago and this retreat is the first time she has ever met another Muslim. Approximately 100 guests in all, although many more wished to come that was the cut off.

We spent the day resting and socializing, sharing our stories and our ideas about the subjects of the retreat. I was in awe of the immediate sense of siblinghood and friendship shared by these many travelers from across the globe, despite cultural and ethnic differences. I was also struck by the incredible hospitality, and good humor of the Trinidad people, and their great enthusiasm for both their religion and their way of life on this small island nation.

Once everyone arrived we loaded onto a bus headed for Barrackpore, and for the first time the incredible beauty of the Caribbean came into view. Everything is green! Green like you’ve never seen in the states. Every square foot of open land bursting with natural beauty. Huge coconut and banana palms punctuate that hillsides along with many other flowering plants. As we crossed the Island we watched the sun sink into the Western sea with a nuance of color I’ve never seen in an American sunset. The colors are just brighter here, even the butterflies are more vibrant.

Once we arrived we deposited our luggage at a local madrassa which was adapted into a male dormitory and all met at the banquet hall of the Barrackpore Islamic Centre for a late dinner. The First session starts in the morning.