Ashley Makar is a divinity student at Yale University and a Birmingham native. She is of Egyptian ancestry. Her father is a cardiologist in Birmingham. Recently, in Jerusalem, she ran upon a startling sight, the Alabama the Heart of Dixie souvenir shop. Of course, she had to check this out.
The owner of the shop is Hani Imam, who lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from 1984 to 1994. At the shop he has Alabama items and decorations but sells Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Holy Land items to religious tourists. Imam watches Alabama football games on his satellite television and is hoping for them to repeat as national champions.
As Makar left the shop, the Muslim manager, Dia Abdeen, smiled and said, "Roll Tide!"
Makar, Ashley, "Viewpoints: There's a Heart of Dixie and a Roll Tide in Jerusalem," al.com. http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2010/09/viewpoints_theres_a_heart_of_d.html
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