VALPARAISO | Having encountered an alternate reality, Melanie Montgomery thinks the media get it mostly wrong about Islam and the Middle East.
Montgomery has gotten a whole different take on politics, religion and even water since opening her home to a young lawyer from the Arabian peninsula country of Oman.
Since last fall, the retired cosmetics sales representative and her husband, Paul, have hosted Mohammed Al Rawas, a student in the Interlink intensive English program at Valparaiso University.
"It's been one of the most wonderful experiences of our adult lives," Montgomery said. "I have learned more from Mohammed than any human being."
The learning has happened on jaunts to Wal-Mart and around the living room when Al Rawas invites Saudi Arabian fellow students over for dinner.
"They're wonderful gentlemen," Montgomery said. "They're very polite and high-spirited. They treat people with the utmost respect. I'm surprised by their friendly, easy-going nature," she said.
Al Rawas, 36, practices law in Oman and prosecutes water crimes for the country's ministry of water resources. In a dry land where gas costs 30 cents a gallon but water goes for $5, illegal wells are a challenge. Hoosiers' complaints about rain amuse him.
"I want 2 percent from this for my country," he said with a laugh.
The Montgomerys and their "favorite nephew," as they think of him, watch the evening news and shows like "American Idol" and share their countries' cultures.
"Before, I was fearful that they were very critical of any religion but their own, of any culture but their own," Montgomery said. "That's so not true."
She said Al Rawas and his Muslim friends are curious and enjoy learning about different people.
"That's a stark difference from what we see on TV," Montgomery said.
Al Rawas said that Islam is often not portrayed accurately in the media. Islam, like other religions, teaches adherents to be good, do good and help others, he said. Extremists anger him because they themselves do not understand Islam.
"They make trouble for me, for most of Muslims," he said.
At the same time, he's saddened when he hears assertions that Muslims are out to take over the world. His hope someday is to gain a command of English such that he is able to give Americans "the correct idea about Islam."
In the meantime, he would urge Americans not to get all their information about the Islamic world from the news media. A good supplement would be books, he said. Or, Montgomery suggested, hosting an international student.
