’d Osamas
It's been a mindblowing journey. As the plane bringing us home from Pakistan descended to Heathrow, London twinkled up at us. I saw the London Eye, Big Ben, the royal parks and the blue-green Thames winding through the city. It was like the closing credits of Eastenders, except with jetlag. Over the past 50 days, Masood and I have physically circumnavigated Planet Earth seeking lovely Osamas. We've searched in six countries, across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South and South East Asia and North America. We've covered nearly 40,000 miles and met over a hundred Osamas of all different sorts, from a romance-loving truck driver to a Black Sabbath TV talkshow rocker, with plenty in between. They've been cheeky, sombre, sweet, intellectual, shy, humble, dashing, generous, commanding, suspicious and hilarious.
We didn't even come close to our target of 500 Osamas but it doesn't matter. This mission was supposed to show people the tender, human side of Muslims that is often overlooked. It was also meant as a counter to the frequent and unfair association of violent extremists with the Muslim community who make up a fifth of the world's population. Meeting Muslims from cultural backgrounds hugely different from my own has reconnected me with some of the more beautiful and unifying aspects of the faith itself. As Ramadan approaches this September I might just take a trip down to Regent's Park mosque to check out that same strength and serenity I saw reflected around the world from Jakarta to Toronto.
Though all the people we met across the world were undoubtedly unique, the ties that united the stockbroker from Canada and the goat's milk distributor from Indonesia were obvious and warm and truly reassuring. Humour, humanity and kindness transcend barriers of culture and language - it's cheesy cos it's true, dammit! The stunning backdrops of tropical forests, ancient pyramids, cityscapes and thundering waterfalls have all paled in comparison to the pleasure of meeting not only these wonderful people called Osama, but their fascinating friends, families, taxi drivers, immigration officials, curious passersby and people who've helped us along the way. Of all those who helped us, a special thanks must go to our readers on the internet and all the Osamas and their pals who uploaded their pictures to the website! Nothing could have cheered us up more on our travels than logging on to find another face and encouraging comments from you.
The search isn't quite over yet, though. Osama Loves is still open for business, and I hear that one of them - Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia - has just won an Olympic Gold medal! Go Osamas of the World! So next time you bump into one, make sure you ask him what he loves, take a snap and upload it to the site. Finally, if you want to see our adventure in moving colour, don't miss the documentary for all the behind the scenes footage - it'll be going out on Channel 4 at 10am on the 22nd September.
Bye for now!
Farrah and Masood
