OBSERVING MUSLIM RAMADAN DURING THE CHRISTIAN EASTER SEASON: Week Four — Bumps in the Road to Becoming an “Official” Immigrant

The following log is being presented in a series of weekly installments.  To read this document in its entirety, please visit philchurch.substack.com

DAY 22 (FRIDAY, APRIL 22) – THE DMV experience. Qualifying for employment in the US requires Afghan refugees to have a government-issued picture ID. It is not enough to have a special immigrant visa (SIV) but also to have ID issued by the state of residence. So Catholic Charities arranges Uber transportation for HM to visit the local DMV, get photographed and take the written test for a learner’s permit. (He has actually been driving for several years in Kabul, but none of that counts toward getting a Virginia State Driver’s License.) Phil obtains a copy of the Virginia Drivers Manual which HM studies for the test.  However, after he arrives at the DMV and waits in line, he is told he must show proof of Virginia residency in the form of a rental agreement, utility bills, bank account with a residence street address on it. He does not have those at the moment.

Back home, HM, Phil and Connie, download print out, fill in, and together sign a month-to-month lease agreement for ‘renting’ a room and bath in our home complete with ‘kitchen privileges.’ We laugh at that kitchen privileges clause because HM is now Connie’s companion cook, stocking our refrigerator and shelves with Iftar meals and food from Costco and the Halal supermarket.

Finally, the rental agreement, along with a bank statement – also now with our home as his mailing street address – make HM eligible to take the DMV written test. He “aces” the exam getting 40 out of 40 questions correct. A week later his learner’s permit arrives in our mailbox. HM proudly shows us the card with his head-and-shoulders photo on it; he’s one step closer to having what he needs to show he’s a worthy job applicant.

 DAYS 23 (SATURDAY, APRIL 23) – Venturing into the District on Metro. Today, HM is meeting an American living in D.C. who was his work colleague and project on a US government contract in Kabul. HM wants to learn how to use the Metro Card that Catholic Charities has given him to help in getting to job interviews and for other needs. Phil drops HM at the West Falls Church Metro. HM is back home five hours later after having walked-and-talked much of the Capitol Mall with his former American colleague, then finding his way home from our closest Metro stop using his smart phone’s GPS. HM now considers himself Metro proficient. We tell him that it’s been more than two years, pre-Covid since we have ridden the Metro.

DAY 24 (SUNDAY, APRIL 24) – The same wine in different bottles? It was inevitable that Phil’s and Connie’s periodic comparative religion conversations with HM would drift into the realm of money and provisions in Islamic sharia law that prohibit usury, including charging interest rates to borrowers, or paying interest rates to lenders. An Islamic bank or financial institution, HM explains, becomes the purchaser and charges a markup for doing so under a system called murabaha. Say, a buyer wants to purchase a car for $20,000 and doesn’t have enough cash to pay the full cost. An Islamic bank purchases the car for the buyer who will repay the buyer-bank in, say, 10 monthly installments of $2,200.00 or a total of $22,000.00. At that time, the final buyer takes the title to the car. The Islamic institution keeps the $2,000 additional payment over what it paid for the car to cover its “costs of doing business.” We would see that as 10% interest payment, but, shhhh!  That’s not the way sharia-observing Islamic bankers view it. Phil and Connie need to follow up on this conversation with HM some future evening with a discussion focusing next time on saving and investing in the Islamic world.

DAY 25 (MONDAY, APRIL 25) – Job search coaching is now priority #1. This morning HM is up early for his appointment at the Alexandria office of Work Force Development where he will meet with a job counselor about his work status, resume, job prospects, and possibly some tuition-free English language training. Catholic Charities arranged the appointment and for Uber transportation to the appointment and back. Phil and Connie are impressed both to learn that such a Workforce Development office exists and is available to Afghan refugees and that settlement agencies have resources to arrange transport for visits to meet with professional job counselors. In HM’s case the system appears to be working well.

DAY 26 (TUESDAY, APRIL 26) – Becoming his own boss? HM continues to explore the option of marketing his computer consulting services through an online business of his own, while he continues his job search. He reports that several of his Afghan friends are looking at this option as well because they all are having problems landing jobs in their fields. Residency histories and US government-issued security clearances are among the obstacles for specialists in computer systems and cyber security work for which HM is well qualified. HM meets neither of those residency or security requirements still being such a recent arrival in the US. HM asks us where the nearest book-store is, one that sells titles on small business start-ups. Phil says he’s happy to take HM to the local Barnes and Noble, but suggests first that he should go online and look over the rich reservoir of free resources that the US Small Business Administration (SBA) has to offer for aspiring small business owners.  More late-night research for HM to conduct during Ramadan.

DAY 27 (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27) – – Rich Dad, Poor Dad. This evening at dinner we discuss finances. The topic comes up because HM shows us a list of books that he wants to buy to understand better how to start a business. On the list is author Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. We tell him not to buy that book because we have one of the 35 million copies of this best-seller in our home library. Phil gets it off the shelf and hands it to HM to read.

Later, we also discuss saving and investing and the importance of having your money work for you as well as you working for your money. HM is a bit vague about stock and bond investing according to Islamic sharia law. Phil reminds him that Islam does not prohibit investing in company stocks but does avoid positions in some business sectors. He encourages HM to look at the Islamic approved Iman Fund – [symbol Imanx]  www.imanfund.com –  which only has holdings in sharia-compliant firms. Excluded, for example, all banking institutions and firms that produce alcohol, tobacco, hallucinating drugs or pork products and are in the gambling and adult entertainment sectors.

Phil also shares that some faith communities – Presbyterians, Catholics, Jewish – have developed similar socially responsible funds that align their investments with their particular values. He tells HM that our Presbyterian denomination has funds that are similar to the Iman Fund but unlike in that those funds include financial institutions. In short, our Christian and Islamic faiths overlap in our investment practices in most if not all cases.

DAY 28 (THURSDAY, APRIL 28) – Give him credit for asking. Phil, Connie and HM are having periodic discussions about money and this evening’s topic is credit cards. Should he have one and what impact does it have on his credit history? HM is wondering.  HM indicates he understands it is important to build a good credit history to qualify for a loan to buy a car or maybe someday a small condo or house. Right now, he only has a debit card attached to his bank account. We explain that for some purchases, particularly those made online, a credit card is advisable because he has a better chance of getting his money back should he want to return his purchase or if he gets caught up in some fraudulent transaction. He was not aware. We encourage HM to shop for the best rate and terms as credit cards, unlike debit cards, often come with annual fees.  Also, we caution him, it is important to pay off his credit balance and not get enmeshed in credit card debt, against Islamic usury prohibitions. For a Muslim that’s a double incentive to be a pay-go consumer. HM appears to understand that well.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.