Stress and Religion

"I listen to sermons while I am driving because it soothes and relaxes me. . .Then I say, 'I fear God in His Glory.' 'May God forgive me.' This gives me strength, and calms me and leaves my heart open."

-Beha Pg 72

     On more than one instance as the reader we are reminded that the cassette sermons are in many ways the working man's supplement to reading from the Quran or going to the mosque. In this particular quote from Beha he mentions that for him, who works days in upwards of 18 hours on some instances, listening to the sermons not only keeps his heart at ease but also allows him to realize that the worldly things he often concerns himself with won't matter when it's time for him to be judged in the after life. For me this highlights one of the main reasons I envy religion, which is that it's an amazing support pillar. Even if you take away most of the more organized aspects of it, which is what they've essentially done with cassette sermons, the individual bond a person shares with their God allows them to pursue life even under periods of intense stress. It affords them comfort in regards to the monotony of life and the inevitability of death. This is, to me, a very beautiful thing and speaks to the power of religion to move someone's heart in positive ways and also provides excellent counterarguments to the Islamic Militant conception that the cassette were often unfairly paired with.