This week while shopping for a few Christmas gifts, I found myself standing in a long line at the cash register in a department store. The air was heavy with the sound of Christmas music coming from somewhere on a speaker system. There were the usual crowded, panicky Christmas shoppers all around, all tired, looking weary, all with the look “of begging for relief” from shopping.

I found that I was standing behind a Muslim lady with her 13-year-old and 2-year-old daughters. I can only guess at the age of the girls, but I’m sure I am close in guessing their ages. The mother, wearing the traditional hijab (headscarf) covering her hair, leaving only her face uncovered, raised her head toward me and gave a slight shy smile, then quickly dropped her head again.

I commented to her that it looked like she had been very busy shopping since she had two baby strollers filled with her 2-year-old daughter and many gifts. She had sweaters, nightgowns, other clothes, some bracelet jewelry, and some children’s toys. Again, she acknowledged my comment with a slight smile, then dropped her head. She carried on a conversation with her oldest daughter in a foreign dialect, but on occasion she spoke broken English. The daughter spoke both languages very well. The 2-yea- old had a Disney Minnie Mouse doll in the box for purchase and kept saying, “Mickey, Mickey.” The oldest daughter showed the younger a Disney collection set that had 6 characters. The smallest girl counted the characters in English, “1, 2, 3, 4,” and then stopped. Maybe that was as high as she could count.

While standing there with the family, I observed shoppers passing us by. It is this observation that I chose to write about. Some ladies would go out of their way to walk around a nearby Christmas display to avoid walking close to the mother. Some of the shoppers looked through the mother with pure hate in their eyes. Their eyes were like two laser beams drilling through the Muslim lady who stood with her chin down.

Then, one friendly lady walked up to the mother, offering her compliments on the three sets of jewelry bracelets that were on top of the pile of items. She then hurried away like she was embarrassed or not quiet sure what to say next.

The mother and her children finally got to step up to the cashier to check out.

The 13-year-old had to help her mother understand the English language instructions from the cashier. The mother seemed embarrassed to have to have her daughter translate for her.

While waiting with the Muslim mother and her children in line, I could feel the pain I’m sure she must have felt as other shoppers looked at her with such disdain. I know the stares and angry looks were not aimed at me, but the stares and angry looks seemed to be bouncing off the family, and I was absorbing some of the pain that vibrated through the air. I wanted to say I was sorry, but I wasn’t sure that it was proper for me to have a conversation with the lady.

I questioned myself for an answer to: “Where was the Christmas spirit of goodwill, love and charity for all mankind?”

I thought it would be so easy for the mother to remove the hijab (headscarf) covering her hair and all the evil stares would have gone away, for then no one would have known she was of the Muslim faith. She wore the headscarf and suffered the pain for her religious beliefs. How many of us would have done the same for our Christian beliefs, now at Christmas?