As soon as I heard the news, I called Oda. I could tell he was shaken up, and I asked him what happened. Oda told me FBI agents knocked on his door and asked him if he knew where his son Muhammad was. Oda told them he was going to Memphis to shop with his fiancee. They said, “No, he’s been arrested.”
I’ve known Oda Dahklalla for about 10 years. Oda’s son was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for trying to join ISIS. Muhammad and his fiancee Jaelyn Young had purchased airfare to Turkey and planned to try to join ISIS in Syria. Jaelyn was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in prison.
I met Oda through a mutual friend, who was studying Islam for a graduate religion course. We met in Shahrazad’s, Oda’s Middle Eastern restaurant. I had never eaten Middle Eastern cuisine, and Oda put out a sampler spread for us. It was wonderful food. Oda was the perfect host.
Over the years I met with Oda many times. He and his wife Lisa visited in our home and shared a meal with us. Heaven only knows how many meals Lisa prepared for me. They were always generous, almost to the point of forcing one to take the food.
Lisa’s gone now. She fought cancer for several years before succumbing this past spring. This has been a tough year for the Dahklallas.
Five years ago my oldest son and I visited Israel on our own. Neither of us had ever been there, but we knew where we wanted to go and wanted to see and experience. My son is a Baptist pastor, and I have studied and taught the Bible for more than 40 years. Those eight days in Israel were nearly indescribable.
It just so happened Oda was in Israel the same week we visited, spending time with his family in Bethlehem, his home town. I called him, and he invited us to his family’s home for the last evening of Ramadan. Oda came to our hotel in a taxi and we returned to Bethlehem to meet his parents, his brothers and the rest of the family. Oda’s mom kept feeding us homemade bread and fruit while we waited for sundown. I knew where Oda had inherited his hospitable spirit.
After sunset we went to one of his brother’s home and ate a traditional meal. Afterward we drank tea.
Oda has invited me to Friday prayers at the local Mosque here in Starkville, and I attended one of his sons’ wedding at the Mosque a few years ago.
Most of our conversations over the years have been discussions about Islam and Christianity. We see things differently, but we enjoy sharing our respective faiths with each other.
The day I called Oda to ask what had happened to Muhammad I was calling as one father of sons to another father of sons. All fathers know their sons are likely to get into trouble because all fathers were once sons themselves. I believe Muhammad let his hormones and heart rule over his head. Even the smartest young men are sometimes prone to lose all reason when pursuing young women.
On the day I called Oda said, “He doesn’t even speak Arabic!” He knew Muhammad and Jaelyn would have died, or worse, had they completed the trip. I continue to pray for my friend and his family.
Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville. Email him at PJandMe2@hotmail.
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