I am not here to make any value judgements about the religion of Islam; there are definitely those who find some peace and meaning in it, and there are sects of Islam, such as the Sufi and the Druze that focus on spiritual principles, and that challenge the modern black and white narrative of meme culture and anti Muslim talking points.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a poem after seeing a walk-through video showing the streets of Tehran, and I found that  I was struck by a feeling of great love, like an invisible thread tugging at my soul.  There was an underlying personal reason for this feeling,  but beyond this, a broader respect for the people of Iran which was borne from my weekly interactions with them.