Book Review… Lessons in tolerance

Nov 19, 2017 Book Review…, Features / Columnists

Book: Bedtime Conversations with Nana

Author Iqubal Hydal

Critic: Dr Glenville Ashby

Cultural Diplomacy has long been used to promote goodwill, tolerance and understanding among nations. Governments have funded cultural exchanges and tertiary institutes have added religious diplomacy to its academic programs.

In fact, cultural diplomacy, more than ever, has become integral to foreign policy, geopolitics and international affairs. It is against this background that the reader must assess the significance of Iqubal’s Hydal’s Bedtime Conversations with Nana.

Hydal refers to himself as “religious,” and inspired to undertake this work by his experiences with his grandchildren. In the Preface he writes, “Very often when they overnighted, I would lie with them on the bed in order to put them to sleep. Some of the story books available for bedtime reading, I have found to be nonsensical and lacked any moral in educational values. It is this experience which led me to believe it would be better to delve into the realm of the celestial and at the same time create imagery to extend their imagination into the spiritual world.”

The young and astute Nana is quizzed by two adults on spiritual matters. The questions are basic but significantly profound. They are rooted in the essence of being, cosmology, eschatology (the afterlife) and redemption.

Indeed, they are the rudiments of religious thought and the foundation of one’s identity and relationship to God and humanity. Nana’s response indicates a child that is versed in Quranic teachings and equally knowledgeable on other creeds and faiths.

The interplay between adult and child in matters of culture can be sensitive. Hydal, seasoned and erudite, well navigates potentially choppy waters. When Nana enquires about other faiths and teachings, Hydal exercises sound judgment, mindful that he risks promoting intolerance.

In plural societies cultural pedagogy is essential to identity, social harmony and stability and Hydal is adept at conveying this truth.

In one scene Nana is asked, “Do Hindu worship idols,” to which she retorts, “No…what you call idols which you see in their temples, are called murtis. They believe that these murtis serve to focus their attention on the different powers of God.”

She ably responds to other inquiries including the Christian Trinity and the role of the prophets in religions.

Throughout, there are reminders of our personal and social responsibilities. Free will, good and evil, and the role of adults in teaching ethics for daily living are discussed. And mention is made of nature, a gift to humankind. “…bees do good all the time,” says Nana. “They make honey which is medicine for us…Birds like the nightingale whistle sweetly for us and many of Allah’s creation naturally do good, but we as human beings have a choice of doing good or evil and we must always choose to do good.”

And for the good we perform we are bestowed a heavenly mead. “When we die, we must return to Allah, Who created us in the first place. He judges us based on our deeds…We cannot mix evil with that which is good and pure,” affirms Nana.

Hydal, an educator and author of Khutbas of the Quran and Muhammad My Leader, served as a Commissioner on the Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO and the Working Group for Inter-Religious Studies. His Bedtime Conversations with Nana is the sum of his experiential knowledge and serves as a bridge between communities. When Nana recites the Kalmia or Testament of Faith there is clear confirmation that a common thread runs through all faiths.

In an era of ethnic tensions and internecine violence, Nana’s words offer hope. Her message resounds, ever echoing the words of Ramakrishna, the renowned Hindu mystic: “God can be realized through all paths…. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole.”

Clearly, Bedtime Conversations with Nana underscores Hydal’s gift as a teacher of men.

Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleahsby

Bedtime Conversations with Nana by Iqubal Hydal

Design and Layout: Safari Publications Co. Ltd.

ISBN: 978-976-95703-7-5

Available: iqubal213@hotmail.com or call (868) 683 5336

Ratings: Recommended

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