“L’Innominato” is one of the main characters in Alessandro Manzoni’s masterpiece I Promessi Sposi. This character, based on a true personage of 17th century Lombardy, having committed all sorts of crimes and villainous actions throughout his life, is now, with the advancing years and the inevitable approach of death, increasingly feeling the burden of the enormous misdeeds that he had previously carried out. This causes him dread, despair and fear of a future judgement he had heard about long ago. God had never featured in his life but now, in moments of heavy dejection of spirit and unmotivated terror, he seemed to be hearing clearly within himself the words “Io sono, però”.

The sight of Moslems praying on the promenade in Sliema should be cause of reflection for us all. In post-Christian Europe, for long years now, there have been those who have arduously campaigned, sometimes overtly and often not so, to have a God-free and a Christ-free society. Believers are preferably not seen and certainly not heard, and their views, especially orthodox ones, are often subjected to much mockery, criticism and worse. A Protestant pastor in Sweden was imprisoned because he quoted from the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis, with regard to homosexual behaviour, and a French politician was heavily fined for referring to the catechism of the Catholic Church. Crucifixes are taken down from the walls of schools, hospitals and government offices, Christmas cards studiously omit any reference to the advent of Christ and Christians, especially in the United States, and people are sometimes imprisoned if they dare to pray too close to abortion clinics.

The hypocrisy of these actions is so flagrant that it defies belief. Moslems and people of other faiths are often cited as the reason for the removal of Christian symbols and references. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real reason is the intolerance that apostate Christians have for anything that smacks of Christianity. They believe that God must be well and truly expunged from society because they mistakenly and foolishly believe that this will pave the way to a life of happiness and, hopefully, of endless merriment. The opposite is the truth. Ours is a stress-ridden, increasingly desperate society (“sazi e disperati” as Cardinal Biffi says) because under the veneer of radiant, smiling faces in glossy magazines there often is solitude, insecurity and a gnawing fear of what tomorrow might bring.

With the arrival of irregular immigrants, mostly Moslems from developing countries, a new scenario is presenting itself. Here we have people who want to hold fast to the religion of their forefathers and, most importantly, are not afraid to show it. It almost seems that God, who has sometimes quite rudely been pushed out of the door in many a European home and institution, has now found a way to come back again and remind us as he did to the Innominato in Manzoni’s novel that “Io sono, però”. Moslems praying at Ghar-id-Dud should make those who profess to be Christian deeply rethink their faith, keeping always in mind Jesus’ words that his followers are the “salt of the earth” and the “light on the hill” that needs to be seen by all.

Those who are convinced of their faith in Jesus and are willing, despite their fragilities, to live it come what may, feel no fear or apprehension when confronted with people of other faiths and cultures but are spurred to reflect further on the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God made Man.

Jacqueline Calleja

BALZAN