He was a humanist, someone who believes that people can make the world better. Haji respected everyone’s beliefs and never spoke against any religion. But he didn’t believe that God wanted calamity for anyone—or that anyone deserved to be abandoned to fate or bad luck. He taught me to treat everybody well, because we are all equal, no matter what we look like, what we believe in, or how much money we have. To always do the right thing, even if it’s hard. Even if people tell you it’s impossible. And maybe that’s even better than going to church.”
