“Al-salaamu alaykum.” (“Peace be upon you.”)

The bearded man’s eyes darted up in surprise as Kristofer greeted him. Without a reply, he lowered his eyes and hurried on his way.

My son-in-law, Kristofer, is outgoing and friendly, but one group of people here weren’t easy for him to befriend—the conservative foreign Muslim missionaries living in our city.

Soon after returning to Albania, Kristofer and Megan passed one of the missionaries on the street. Kristofer greeted him with the Arabic equivalent of “shalom.” Even though the reaction wasn’t friendly at first, Kristofer didn’t give up. Each day as he passed them, he respectfully greeted them in their language. Finally, one man cheerfully returned Kristofer’s greeting. “Wa alayka al-salaam,” (“And upon you be peace.”)

As the weeks passed, more and more of these men began to reply to Kristofer in friendly ways. One day when Kristofer was walking with Zaku, one of the men greeted Kristofer, who responded in kind. Zaku’s eyes widened in surprise. “Those men are friendly to you now? What happened?” Kristofer told him of the weeks of greetings, and Zaku smiled. “This is very good, Kristofer. Being respectful earns respect.”

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