Has anyone heard the name Azim Khamisa?
No? I spent all day Sunday with him...he is a beautiful Sufi Muslim. The story is better known in San Diego, it's where the murder took place..10 years ago now.
He lost his son, he was delivering pizza to a house near North Park neighborhood, and a 14 year old gang member shot him with a 9mm pistol. The bullet went through the door of the car, into the Tariq's armpit through his chest, and out his other armpit...he died choking on his own blood...several minutes later.
There was no animosity, no robbery, no intent - just murder...Tariq had under $20.00 on him...
It was a parent's nighmare....
When Azim got the call from the police his son was dead...he lost his mind as we all would...for what? for nothing...As a Sufi Muslem, Azim had meditated since he was in his mid 20's- for at least 20 years by the time his son was shot...
He said yesterday it took 5000 hours of meditation just to conceive of the idea of such a senseless act.
He found the heart to approach the other family to try and understand such a sensless thing that could change so many lives in so few minutes....
He and Plez, a green beret in VietNam, met Azim had begun the search for meaning...And he suggested to Plez that such an incident should never happen again. Plez felt horrible that his grandson had killed. Azim found that Plez family had a sad history and that the boy who murdered his son, had never really known his father and had been abused as a child-
There are few incidences of such unthinking violence without a background of neglest or abuse.
This beautiful man wand the grandfather of his son's killer started a foundation to stop children from killing children
"There are victims on both sides of the gun" when children kill children.
Actually there are victims on both side of the gun when anyone kills anyone-whether it is violence of speech or of physicality- it is all springing form the same well....
Me and 10 other SOM members sat through 5 hours of meditations, sharing, caring, crying, and living in Azim's beautiful prescence....
There are such great presences that travel amoung us
By the way, Guru means teacher...
as in this is the teacher of forgiveness
http://www.theforgivenessproject.com/stories/azim-khamisa-ples-felix