2004 was a year of unrest in Kano, Nigeria. The largely Muslim city-kingdom was infested with Islamic and Christian fighters bent on killing each other (lawlessness continues in Kano today. If you have the stomach for it, read about  Kano’s problem with the ritualistic sacrifice of children). It was in this unwelcoming environment that I found myself stuck.

No money. No plane ticket. No friends or guides.

How did I get here?

It all started with a mistake in Amsterdam. Tired from jet-lag and poor sleep and an all-night flight from the US, I left my notebook on the plane. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem, but I also don’t normally keep my tickets in my notebook either.

Realizing this too late, I found myself already on my connecting flight to Nigeria with no return ticket home.

Two months earlier, when my travel agent was booking the flight, it looked like there was no way to get me out of the country in time to meet my family for vacation in Missouri. And then we saw a KLM flight from Kano. “Let’s take it,” I said without any knowledge of the recent …

Our leader in Malaysia (and a current student of our Leading Steward’s Course) just had an incredible opportunity to speak publicly on what God has to say about money.

This was done at a forum that was answering the question “What does religion have to say about money?” Malaysia is mostly Muslim, but has ties with Hinduism and Buddhism as well. Check out Erik’s recounting of the event below:
The Buddhist speaker was the first to speak and he quoted the Buddhist texts in Sanskrit which nobody could understand and talked about the concept of Karma: Cause and Effect. greed and good works. At the end, the speaker is of the opinion that the solution is within oneself. The answer is within you. If you look inside you, you will find the solution.

The Islamic scholar defined what is spirituality from the Koran and talked about the 4 levels of spirituality = iman, dakwah, obedience and piety. While acknowledging that God is the creator, mankind is the trustee. Islam is against greed. However, the issue of ownership was not resolved , who is the beneficiary and …