My school years during the 70s and 80s were filled with diversity. After spending my early childhood in the United States, I was fortunate to attend a British school in Spain. It was more of an international school, a melting pot of races, religions, languages and ethnicities. Although our principal was an Anglican priest, we also learned about Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim beliefs, to name a few. When I was 10 years old, my friend Adji was urged by the teachers to eat at lunchtime, as he quietly watched the rest of us unpack our sandwiches. He shook his head. “I can’t. It’s Ramadan.” I found that fascinating and loved listening to his explanations of fasting and other Muslim religious observances.
