Worldly Holiness

Here is another one of my new friends. His name is Miguel and he is from Argentina.

I first met Miguel in October of 2005 when I came to Barcelona for a conference on our focus friends. The topic of that conference was addressing the many aspects of Maghrebi assimilation into our communities across Spain [see the Wikipedia piece below about the Maghreb]. For pastors and other church people at the conference the principle underlying question was, “do we integrate these immigrants into our existing churches or start new churches just for them?” Clearly, the two approaches imply radically different mindsets, strategies and even theology. They both are modeled in Europe. Actually, it would be more accurate to say, in large part, integration is not the approach, at least at the level of a worship service.

At the conference many people on both sides of the issue were present, including several from the region of the Maghreb. Many pastors and other nonprofit workers were also present. It was a very fruitful time and served to build relationships and understanding. Miguel was key to this event, and is significant for what happens with immigrants and the response of the church in this region. Needless to say, I fell in love with Miguel and he is in large part why we are here in Barcelona now, instead of somewhere else in Spain. He has that bear huggable nature about his personality and has a heart for all the new arrivals to the shores of Spain, even people like us. He works tirelessly with churches in the area to establish ministries of compassion and welcome to our focus friends.

Last week, I invited Miguel to Austin’s restaurant for a coffee [see previous post about Oliver & Austin . These guys are not from the Maghreb region but they are indeed a part of the 2nd largest group of immigrants in this area]. I thought it would be good to see where he works and to just be a friend, patron and advocate. I could see Miguel assimilate the injustice of Austin’s pay [see previous post again ]. He was disturbed. I imagined the bear hug changing into something else—a bear squeeze maybe. I don’t think Miguel would go there but he was clearly distressed.

After we had our café con leche and fries, chatted with the owner of the restaurant and exchanged telephone numbers, we got up to leave. Austin seemed moved that we had come to visit him and insisted we come back another time. This guy who gets €350 a month would not take payment for our food. He then escorted us to the door like it was his own home. He personally thanked me for coming and asked me to send my love and greetings to Carol and family and that he was praying for us. Wow. What hospitality.

As Miguel and I walked to the metro, we brainstormed about ways we can come alongside Austin and his growing network of Pakistani immigrants. This is what Miguel does best. And I have the opportunity to join forces with him in what God is doing to love our focus friends.

The Maghreb (المغرب العربي al-MaÄ¡rib al-Ê¿ArabÄ«; also rendered Maghrib (or rarely Moghreb), meaning "place of sunset" or "western" in Arabic, is the region of Africa north of the Sahara Desert and west of the Nile — specifically, coinciding with the Atlas Mountains. Geopolitically, the area includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, Western Sahara, and sometimes Mauritania, which is often placed in West Africa instead. An inhabitant of the Maghreb is called a Maghrebian or Maghrebi. It is worth noting however that Libya may also be described as part of the Mashriq which also encompasses Egypt.

Maghrebis are of mixed origins. They are mainly of Berber and/or Arab origins; the resulting mix is sometimes (particularly in Mauritania) termed Moorish. The Trans-Saharan trade brought in numerous West Africans, whose average contribution to the population increases as one goes south. In the northern coastal towns, conversely, several waves of European immigrants have influenced the population — notably Moriscos, Spanish Muslims who fled the Reconquista, Turks who came over with the Ottoman Empire, and French, Italians, Spanish, and others captured by the corsairs. Jewish communities have historically been present in the older cities, and have contributed to the wider gene pool through conversion. In Algeria especially, a large European minority, the "pied noirs", immigrated under French colonial rule; the overwhelming majority of these, however, left immediately following independence.

The region is almost entirely Muslim in religion, following the Sunni Maliki school, although small Ibadi communities remain in some areas. A strong tradition of venerating marabouts and saint's tombs is found throughout the region, still commemorated by the proliferation of "Sidi"s on any map of the region, though this tradition has substantially decreased over the twentieth century. A network of zaouias traditionally helped proliferate basic literacy and knowledge of Islam in rural regions.