Post by Islamic Revival on Sept 1, 2004 5:09:49 GMT -5
www.imtiazahmad.com/Inter%20JOE.htm
A Filipino Computer Engineer
Many people came to Saudi Arabia primarily for financial gains. There was, however, something else in store for them. Joe Paul Echon was one of them. His story is full of cultural and spiritual conflicts and their step-by-step solutions. Intelligence, hard work and sincerity of purpose always lead to enviable triumphs. The road to success is very long. More hard work brings about more firm faith and lasting success. Exploration and sound knowledge produce sound results. Ignorance and guesswork leads to a very fragile foundation. In fact, seeking knowledge with an open mind wins half the battle of life. The other half is won through courage and honest commitment to the call of one's conscious.
Joe belonged to a very strict religious family. He participated in church activities from childhood and was always proud of it. He described his Christian training and background as follows.
[bChristian Background[/b]
I was born in a Roman Catholic family and we attended church services very regularly. As an elementary school student, I was the volunteer child who cleaned the chapel. I was also the assistant to the priest during the communion. As a high school student, I was a choir member who played the guitar and sometimes the piano. I was also a member of the Legion of Mary, which is a group that discusses how to love and worship Mary. We had different statues of Mary; for example, Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Immaculate Conception, etc.
During religious gatherings, our priest used to read the Bible and we simply listened to it. I always wondered why we were not allowed to participate in reading the Bible.
First Major Change in My Life
As a college student, there was a big change in my life with regard to religion. One of my classmates invited me to a non-sectarian group for observation of their activities. It was not easy for me to understand what they were doing and what they were preaching. In my church the priest held the Bible and read it to us. In this Protestant Christian group every member had a Bible in his hand to read. To my surprise, the Bible stressed over and over again not to worship any statue or idol. This was a major lesson for me. I, therefore, switched from being a Roman Catholic to being a Protestant Christian to avoid worshipping any statue. I was the first Protestant Christian in my family. My family also started exploring the teachings of Protestant Christianity and they readily accepted them. We were very active in this church. I started my formal training as a preacher of the Bible. In this way I acquired a sound knowledge of the Bible and was like a small pastor or priest.
The Image of Muslims in the Philippines
I had no idea about Islam. During my school life I did not recognize any Muslim child probably because they were not practicing Islam and hence, could not be distinguished from others. I had a few Muslim teachers during my college life, but they were also just Muslims by name only. I did not care for Muslims since the media had painted a very bad picture of them. For example, they are terrorists. If one Muslim committed a crime, the media used to blame all the Muslims. We were told not to cross in front of Muslims because they might kill you. We were also advised not to deal with Muslims since they are bad persons. I must add here that our priests and pastors never said anything about Muslims since they were always busy criticizing other Christian sects.
My Work Experience
After completing a Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Engineering, I joined a company called Intel in the Philippines. We manufactured chips for computer hardware. After a month I shifted my job to another computer company where most of my schoolmates were working. It provided me with professional growth and valuable experience. After five years, I decided to open my own company in a partnership with four other individuals. The company, however, failed because it was run inefficiently. I was the first to resign and leave this firm.
New Job Hunting
A friend suggested that we should try to find a job in Saudi Arabia in order to get more capital. After a few years we would be able to start our own business. We contacted an agency. It had demands for computer engineers from a Saudi Arabian Bank and the manager happened to be in Manila for recruitment. Shortly thereafter, an interview was arranged for us. We were accepted but the salary was not attractive. I declined the offer. The agency kept calling me again and again. Finally, my friend compelled me to join him in this adventure. Thus, I accepted the offer to show respect to my friend and we went to Saudi Arabia.
My Initial Impression of Saudi Arabia
I did not know Arabic and I didn’t like it because I thought it was not useful for the world. Likewise, I did not want to learn Arabic since all my colleagues spoke good English. Regarding our new job, we maintained the computers and the communication’s network for a bank in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. I lived with a Filipino group in an apartment. The life in Saudi Arabia was very different; it had many social restrictions imposed on us even though we were non-Muslims. Thus, I experienced great stress and felt homesick.
One day I rented a cab in Dammam and agreed to pay fifteen Riyals. The cab driver was well dressed and had a large beard. He changed his mind during the journey and demanded more money from me. At the end of the journey, he again insisted that I pay him more money. It annoyed me. I jumped out of the car and asked him, "Don't you pray five times a day?" He immediately said, "Please give me fifteen Riyals only." I gave him fifteen and he left quietly. I started reflecting on this incident. I concluded that this cab driver must have a good heart. This was my first positive experience. I started thinking that Saudi's are basically very good people. It was like a silver lining in a dark cloud.
Another positive thing that happened was related to food. I never tried Saudi food. One time we were in a remote area to complete a project. We were very hungry. There was no chance to get any Filipino food. I ate kabsa(chicken and rice) for the first time. It was very delicious. I was always looking for places that served kabsa. It developed my taste for other Saudi dishes.
Critical Dialogue
Abdullah Al-Amar was my Saudi supervisor in the bank. He had good English skills since he was trained overseas. He was also very talkative. He started telling me a story. During his speech the word Jesus(pbuh) came out of his mouth. I told him, “Stop, just stop here. Jesus(pbuh) is my God. How come you know about him?"
This was the first time I heard the word Jesus(pbuh) from a Muslim. It shocked me. During my two-year stay in Saudi Arabia nobody ever talked to me about Jesus(pbuh). Since my childhood, I believed that the sun is the god of the Muslims because they worship when the sun rises. Similarly, they worship when the sun sets and they also worship when sun is high up in the sky.
Abdullah paused momentarily. He then started sharing the names of various Prophets with me, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and others. He said, "They are our Prophets as well." I knew the names of these Prophets from the Bible. On hearing this I realized that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims must have some connection...
A Filipino Computer Engineer
Many people came to Saudi Arabia primarily for financial gains. There was, however, something else in store for them. Joe Paul Echon was one of them. His story is full of cultural and spiritual conflicts and their step-by-step solutions. Intelligence, hard work and sincerity of purpose always lead to enviable triumphs. The road to success is very long. More hard work brings about more firm faith and lasting success. Exploration and sound knowledge produce sound results. Ignorance and guesswork leads to a very fragile foundation. In fact, seeking knowledge with an open mind wins half the battle of life. The other half is won through courage and honest commitment to the call of one's conscious.
Joe belonged to a very strict religious family. He participated in church activities from childhood and was always proud of it. He described his Christian training and background as follows.
[bChristian Background[/b]
I was born in a Roman Catholic family and we attended church services very regularly. As an elementary school student, I was the volunteer child who cleaned the chapel. I was also the assistant to the priest during the communion. As a high school student, I was a choir member who played the guitar and sometimes the piano. I was also a member of the Legion of Mary, which is a group that discusses how to love and worship Mary. We had different statues of Mary; for example, Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Immaculate Conception, etc.
During religious gatherings, our priest used to read the Bible and we simply listened to it. I always wondered why we were not allowed to participate in reading the Bible.
First Major Change in My Life
As a college student, there was a big change in my life with regard to religion. One of my classmates invited me to a non-sectarian group for observation of their activities. It was not easy for me to understand what they were doing and what they were preaching. In my church the priest held the Bible and read it to us. In this Protestant Christian group every member had a Bible in his hand to read. To my surprise, the Bible stressed over and over again not to worship any statue or idol. This was a major lesson for me. I, therefore, switched from being a Roman Catholic to being a Protestant Christian to avoid worshipping any statue. I was the first Protestant Christian in my family. My family also started exploring the teachings of Protestant Christianity and they readily accepted them. We were very active in this church. I started my formal training as a preacher of the Bible. In this way I acquired a sound knowledge of the Bible and was like a small pastor or priest.
The Image of Muslims in the Philippines
I had no idea about Islam. During my school life I did not recognize any Muslim child probably because they were not practicing Islam and hence, could not be distinguished from others. I had a few Muslim teachers during my college life, but they were also just Muslims by name only. I did not care for Muslims since the media had painted a very bad picture of them. For example, they are terrorists. If one Muslim committed a crime, the media used to blame all the Muslims. We were told not to cross in front of Muslims because they might kill you. We were also advised not to deal with Muslims since they are bad persons. I must add here that our priests and pastors never said anything about Muslims since they were always busy criticizing other Christian sects.
My Work Experience
After completing a Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Engineering, I joined a company called Intel in the Philippines. We manufactured chips for computer hardware. After a month I shifted my job to another computer company where most of my schoolmates were working. It provided me with professional growth and valuable experience. After five years, I decided to open my own company in a partnership with four other individuals. The company, however, failed because it was run inefficiently. I was the first to resign and leave this firm.
New Job Hunting
A friend suggested that we should try to find a job in Saudi Arabia in order to get more capital. After a few years we would be able to start our own business. We contacted an agency. It had demands for computer engineers from a Saudi Arabian Bank and the manager happened to be in Manila for recruitment. Shortly thereafter, an interview was arranged for us. We were accepted but the salary was not attractive. I declined the offer. The agency kept calling me again and again. Finally, my friend compelled me to join him in this adventure. Thus, I accepted the offer to show respect to my friend and we went to Saudi Arabia.
My Initial Impression of Saudi Arabia
I did not know Arabic and I didn’t like it because I thought it was not useful for the world. Likewise, I did not want to learn Arabic since all my colleagues spoke good English. Regarding our new job, we maintained the computers and the communication’s network for a bank in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. I lived with a Filipino group in an apartment. The life in Saudi Arabia was very different; it had many social restrictions imposed on us even though we were non-Muslims. Thus, I experienced great stress and felt homesick.
One day I rented a cab in Dammam and agreed to pay fifteen Riyals. The cab driver was well dressed and had a large beard. He changed his mind during the journey and demanded more money from me. At the end of the journey, he again insisted that I pay him more money. It annoyed me. I jumped out of the car and asked him, "Don't you pray five times a day?" He immediately said, "Please give me fifteen Riyals only." I gave him fifteen and he left quietly. I started reflecting on this incident. I concluded that this cab driver must have a good heart. This was my first positive experience. I started thinking that Saudi's are basically very good people. It was like a silver lining in a dark cloud.
Another positive thing that happened was related to food. I never tried Saudi food. One time we were in a remote area to complete a project. We were very hungry. There was no chance to get any Filipino food. I ate kabsa(chicken and rice) for the first time. It was very delicious. I was always looking for places that served kabsa. It developed my taste for other Saudi dishes.
Critical Dialogue
Abdullah Al-Amar was my Saudi supervisor in the bank. He had good English skills since he was trained overseas. He was also very talkative. He started telling me a story. During his speech the word Jesus(pbuh) came out of his mouth. I told him, “Stop, just stop here. Jesus(pbuh) is my God. How come you know about him?"
This was the first time I heard the word Jesus(pbuh) from a Muslim. It shocked me. During my two-year stay in Saudi Arabia nobody ever talked to me about Jesus(pbuh). Since my childhood, I believed that the sun is the god of the Muslims because they worship when the sun rises. Similarly, they worship when the sun sets and they also worship when sun is high up in the sky.
Abdullah paused momentarily. He then started sharing the names of various Prophets with me, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and others. He said, "They are our Prophets as well." I knew the names of these Prophets from the Bible. On hearing this I realized that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims must have some connection...