A Parisian in Oman who said Insha'Allah

Tuesday, last week: A cup of coffee at the café downstairs with our guest, a Parisian, though originally American. Fair enough: He moved to France in the 1980s, making him an immigrant like me here in Oman, not an expat with the intention to eventually leave.
It was his first visit to this part of the world, for a workshop already postponed once amid travel disruptions caused by Trump’s ill-conceived war of choice with our overseas neighbour.
“We know you have a busy schedule, but we would like to show you a little of our country,” my colleagues, of course, said as we sat down with our guest for some “soft work” (easygoing bonding) at a small table in the chic, cosy coffee shop located next to our functional office building, which he had just toured, in Muscat’s Ministries District.
It was hot, even inside, as if the air conditioning and the door to the small courtyard, left ajar, were having some kind of argument. The coffee shop, with its off-white walls, was filled with conversations among working professionals, including my Arabic teacher. I was about to show a framed picture featuring His Majesty the Sultan, displayed on the wing of a grand white piano in the café’s centre, when a couple of tourists, probably staying at the hotel next door, wandered in and began to play a familiar tune.
As it turned out, our American Parisian had already explored Muscat a day earlier with an Iranian guide and a Dubai-based Romanian flight attendant who had been grounded due to ongoing travel disruptions caused by Trump’s war of choice with our overseas neighbour.
“Insha’Allah, I will still take you to see my Arabian horses after the workshop, though,” one of my colleagues still insisted as hospitality is embedded in his cultural DNA.
I noticed the faintly puzzled expression on the face of the Parisian-American as if he was about to ask, “Does Insha’Allah mean you are not sure, as I would love to go!”
Although he knew 'Insha'Allah' literally means “God willing,” also known as Deo Volente or “If all goes to plan” in the Western world, the Parisian-American admitted he felt that some people he had met before used this phrase to mean “maybe, perhaps, I am actually not so sure as it is not up to me.”
“Insha’Allah, tomorrow the workshop will run smoothly as we planned, provided nothing unexpected comes up,” I added to illustrate the true meaning of this beautiful phrase for most Omanis and myself.
“Although the intention is for the event to go well, and for all of us to be present and play our part, it would feel arrogant to speak as though we control the future. There are no guarantees that things will unfold as you intend. It has to do with the belief that everything is written, maktoub.”
“We all have limited control; however, the intention, right choices, and real effort on our part as humans are still essential to make things likely to happen.”
At that same point, and still unknown to us, a video featuring the famous American actress Anne Hathaway went viral. As a non-Muslim, she had said, “I want to have a long, healthy life, Insha’Allah,” sparking mixed reactions and curiosity about what she had meant. Arab Americans were thrilled. Perhaps she was inspired by Elmo from Sesame Street, who had said “Assalaam Alaikum” a week earlier.
Still at the café, our Parisian-American guest, learning his own lessons about Arabic phrases with Islamic significance, suddenly remarked, “You are so lucky to serve a beautiful country with such a strong national vision.”
“Alhamdulilah,” we all said in response.
“Many Westerners and non-Muslims say 'Thank God’, even if only quietly to themselves,” our first-time visitor nodded. Fast learner.