Sohaib

I have failed to talk of Sohaib! – A completely unfair reflection of the impression this man made on me.

Whilst in Khartoum, we did a presentation for the local rotary club. It was an informal occasion and included good food and general chat about the trip. Grant got chatting to Sohaib who asked if there was anything that we needed. He eventually got it out of Grant that we had stayed with Joanna for some time now and perhaps it would be best for the team to start moving out of her space.

A couple of days later saw the team comfortably relocated to a friend of Sohaib’s in Omdurman (the northern city that adjoins Khartoum at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles). He then arranged for us to see the renowned dervish dance. I gathered shamefully little factually about the dervishes, but understand them to be Sufis – a branch of Islam. A big circular expanse is cleared in front of a famous tomb. This circle is lined with chanters dressed in red and green and building up the tempo as they repeat their mantra. They are calling on the one God, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, Allah. Inside the ring 40 men dance and whirl in trance-like states that give clarity to the expression “to dance like a dervish”! It occurred to me that this is not so foreign to some more charismatic churches at home.

As we left the dervishes, we walked through a graveyard on the way home. Sohaib identified the graves of his father and his son alongside each other. His son died in August. There was a moment of silence before we walked on.

It struck me that many graves were nothing more than nameless piles of earth. In the Muslim faith it is best to lay the body to rest as soon as possible. Two days later as we were standing with Sohaib waiting for a minibus, a procession of village men walked by bearing a sheet-covered body. The death had probably occurred within the previous two hours, and the silent party was on its way to lay him to rest. I respect their simplicity and acceptance of death - it is a testimony to their faith.

Over the course of a couple of days, Sohaib hosted us to two delicious Sudanese meals and we shared stories of travels, the rotary club’s work, business and politics in Sudan, and impending visits to Ireland and South Africa. He is an attentative and wonderful person who has taught me a lesson in genuine hospitality.