Hayat (Wife of Modi, Moderate): Good morning, Barma. I thought I would drop in and say hello. Modi is sleeping in for awhile.
Barma (Wife of Mani, Mainstream): Hi, Hayat. Come right in. Mani is asleep also. Our husbands were with Hamas-Iraqi again, fighting al-Qaeda.
Hayat: Shhh. Don’t say that too loud. Modi says there are too many ears on our streets.
Barma: I think there are too many mouths, too. Sit now and have some coffee. I made fresh pastries.
Hayat: Your pastries are too nice, Barma; one look and my teeth start decaying.
Barma: (laughs) Honestly, Hayat, you and Modi must have gone to the same school. You both have wonderful comments.
Hayat: Modi gets his naturally. I have to think about mine.
Barma: There’s the door. Zaina said she would drop in also.
Zaina (Fiancée of Radi, Radical): Morning all. Barma, you made those pastries again. How nice.
Barma: Help yourself. Did Modi and Radi really have a fight a couple of days ago?
Zaina: Not according to Radi. You know how they are. Radi is really very uptight about our scriptures and will not give an inch. If a person is tired and does only seven rakas instead of eight because he forgot, Radi becomes furious. If someone does not start his Isha prayer until one minute after midnight, Radi wants to kill him.
Hayat: I keep telling you, Zaina, you will have to rein him in. He will get himself killed if he keeps erupting like that. He has Modi worried.
Zaina: I know. You and I know that our scriptures do not leave a much room for error. I love praying to Allah and five times per day does not bother me in the least. However, I am really sad about some of our neighbors. With husbands out of work, their in-laws living with them, and babies of their own, they should have a dispensation or something. I know one of my neighbors may be going to the hospital with a stroke from too much work.
Hayat: Modi says that taking care of babies is truly God’s work and should be counted as prayers when you are up all night tending to a baby in pain. He thinks the same about caring for elderly parents.
Barma: I do not agree with that. I think we women should go say our prayers and let our husbands deal with the sick babies. (laughter)
Zaina: Some Christians say that they live their lives so that everything they do is a prayer of one sort or another.
Hayat: I can understand that. I guess if you have your own farm and are alone most of the time, it is easy to communicate with Allah and offer to him whatever work you have to do anyway. I would think it is healthier than smoking or chewing tobacco.
Barma: If you communicate with Allah by yourself too much and people see you talking away with no one there, you do get quite a reputation. (laughter)
Zaina: Yes. Like Radi. (laughter) Seriously though, Radi is not a bad sort. He thinks the world of Modi and Mani. He is honestly afraid that Modi, at least, is headed for the fires of hell. Radi believes he is doing everything he can to save him. You should hear him at prayers (Salat).
Hayat: Modi seems to understand that. At the same time, Modi sees Radi as a product of some unfortunate interpretation and is trying to convince him to simmer down and enjoy life. He thinks Radi will have a stroke.
Zaina: Unfortunately, Hayat, “enjoy life” is a term that sets him off. Modi probably has told you how he feels about that.
Hayat: Oh, yes. “Life is only temporary…this life is a test…it is a favor to us if we are killed young…living too long is terrible…” I think I have heard it all. I feel sorry for him.
Barma: I feel bad about it also. Each of us has our own form of enjoyment. Is Radi not in his own way enjoying life? Does he not enjoy being with Modi and Mani, ranting about all the sinners who should be killed one way or another?
Hayat: (smiles) Barma, I think you have something there. Modi may not have thought that Radi in his own way was enjoying life. If Radi would miss those scenarios if for some reason they were stopped, we could say he was finding enjoyment in them.
Barma: Therefore, if Modi would say he agrees with Radi, and ceases talking as a moderate for awhile, Radi might calm down and become less of a tyrant.
Zaina: That is where you are wrong. If Modi started taking his side, Radi would then go to the next level and rave even more about how things should be. I don’t know how many levels there are, but I am not willing to find out. (laughter)
Barma: I guess that we should leave things as they are. Modi and Mani certainly do not need to be taken to the next level, whatever that is. (laughter)
Zaina: By the way, Radi knows about Modi and Mani fighting for Hamas-Iraqi out of town. Obviously, they were trying to keep it from him.
Hayat: Yes. They just did not want their heated discussions to lead to all out war. They have been talking around it.
Zaina: That is what I was thinking. He did not feel so bad about their hiding that information after I shared that with him.
Barma: Good for you. We have to avoid any situations that would lead to their not talking to each other.
Zaina: I do not think Radi would go that far. (laughter) He loves to talk.
Hayat: Any new updates on when you two will be getting married?
Barma: Yes. We are just dying to hear about your coming wedding.
Zaina: It will be whenever he runs out of excuses. (laughter)
Hayat: What is his excuse this time?
Zaina: He says he wants a peaceful wedding without IEDs, RPGs, or AKs going off and spoiling our wedding.
Barma: That won’t happen for a long time.
Hayat: That is the worst delaying tactic I have ever heard.
Zaina: I know. He thought he had me on that one, but I think I may have changed his mind.
Hayat: I can hardly wait. What did you tell him?
Zaina: I said I could not control the IEDs, the RPGs, or the AKs, but he has to remember I do control the S.E.X. (laughter)
Barma (Wife of Mani, Mainstream): Hi, Hayat. Come right in. Mani is asleep also. Our husbands were with Hamas-Iraqi again, fighting al-Qaeda.
Hayat: Shhh. Don’t say that too loud. Modi says there are too many ears on our streets.
Barma: I think there are too many mouths, too. Sit now and have some coffee. I made fresh pastries.
Hayat: Your pastries are too nice, Barma; one look and my teeth start decaying.
Barma: (laughs) Honestly, Hayat, you and Modi must have gone to the same school. You both have wonderful comments.
Hayat: Modi gets his naturally. I have to think about mine.
Barma: There’s the door. Zaina said she would drop in also.
Zaina (Fiancée of Radi, Radical): Morning all. Barma, you made those pastries again. How nice.
Barma: Help yourself. Did Modi and Radi really have a fight a couple of days ago?
Zaina: Not according to Radi. You know how they are. Radi is really very uptight about our scriptures and will not give an inch. If a person is tired and does only seven rakas instead of eight because he forgot, Radi becomes furious. If someone does not start his Isha prayer until one minute after midnight, Radi wants to kill him.
Hayat: I keep telling you, Zaina, you will have to rein him in. He will get himself killed if he keeps erupting like that. He has Modi worried.
Zaina: I know. You and I know that our scriptures do not leave a much room for error. I love praying to Allah and five times per day does not bother me in the least. However, I am really sad about some of our neighbors. With husbands out of work, their in-laws living with them, and babies of their own, they should have a dispensation or something. I know one of my neighbors may be going to the hospital with a stroke from too much work.
Hayat: Modi says that taking care of babies is truly God’s work and should be counted as prayers when you are up all night tending to a baby in pain. He thinks the same about caring for elderly parents.
Barma: I do not agree with that. I think we women should go say our prayers and let our husbands deal with the sick babies. (laughter)
Zaina: Some Christians say that they live their lives so that everything they do is a prayer of one sort or another.
Hayat: I can understand that. I guess if you have your own farm and are alone most of the time, it is easy to communicate with Allah and offer to him whatever work you have to do anyway. I would think it is healthier than smoking or chewing tobacco.
Barma: If you communicate with Allah by yourself too much and people see you talking away with no one there, you do get quite a reputation. (laughter)
Zaina: Yes. Like Radi. (laughter) Seriously though, Radi is not a bad sort. He thinks the world of Modi and Mani. He is honestly afraid that Modi, at least, is headed for the fires of hell. Radi believes he is doing everything he can to save him. You should hear him at prayers (Salat).
Hayat: Modi seems to understand that. At the same time, Modi sees Radi as a product of some unfortunate interpretation and is trying to convince him to simmer down and enjoy life. He thinks Radi will have a stroke.
Zaina: Unfortunately, Hayat, “enjoy life” is a term that sets him off. Modi probably has told you how he feels about that.
Hayat: Oh, yes. “Life is only temporary…this life is a test…it is a favor to us if we are killed young…living too long is terrible…” I think I have heard it all. I feel sorry for him.
Barma: I feel bad about it also. Each of us has our own form of enjoyment. Is Radi not in his own way enjoying life? Does he not enjoy being with Modi and Mani, ranting about all the sinners who should be killed one way or another?
Hayat: (smiles) Barma, I think you have something there. Modi may not have thought that Radi in his own way was enjoying life. If Radi would miss those scenarios if for some reason they were stopped, we could say he was finding enjoyment in them.
Barma: Therefore, if Modi would say he agrees with Radi, and ceases talking as a moderate for awhile, Radi might calm down and become less of a tyrant.
Zaina: That is where you are wrong. If Modi started taking his side, Radi would then go to the next level and rave even more about how things should be. I don’t know how many levels there are, but I am not willing to find out. (laughter)
Barma: I guess that we should leave things as they are. Modi and Mani certainly do not need to be taken to the next level, whatever that is. (laughter)
Zaina: By the way, Radi knows about Modi and Mani fighting for Hamas-Iraqi out of town. Obviously, they were trying to keep it from him.
Hayat: Yes. They just did not want their heated discussions to lead to all out war. They have been talking around it.
Zaina: That is what I was thinking. He did not feel so bad about their hiding that information after I shared that with him.
Barma: Good for you. We have to avoid any situations that would lead to their not talking to each other.
Zaina: I do not think Radi would go that far. (laughter) He loves to talk.
Hayat: Any new updates on when you two will be getting married?
Barma: Yes. We are just dying to hear about your coming wedding.
Zaina: It will be whenever he runs out of excuses. (laughter)
Hayat: What is his excuse this time?
Zaina: He says he wants a peaceful wedding without IEDs, RPGs, or AKs going off and spoiling our wedding.
Barma: That won’t happen for a long time.
Hayat: That is the worst delaying tactic I have ever heard.
Zaina: I know. He thought he had me on that one, but I think I may have changed his mind.
Hayat: I can hardly wait. What did you tell him?
Zaina: I said I could not control the IEDs, the RPGs, or the AKs, but he has to remember I do control the S.E.X. (laughter)
HJS
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