S.A.

Nicole Kidman as Satine in Moulin Rouge! (2001)

The French are glad to die for love.

They delight in fighting duels.

But I prefer a man who lives.

Today the Department of Awesomely Good Deeds salutes Mustafa Efe, Imam at the Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque in the historical Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey. In addition to his religious and community leadership work, Efe is a devoted animal lover with a great big heart. Last year he began welcoming the city’s numerous stray cats and their kittens into his mosque. Efe refers to his feline visitors as “guests” and wants them to find safety and warmth within the walls of his historic mosque, particularly during the cold winter months.

One mama cat was observed bringing her newborn kittens into the mosque one by one. She carried them in her mouth up the stairs and over to the safety of the mosque’s pulpit, where she proceeded to groom and feed them:

On Facebook Imam Efe wrote, “The kitty has found the heart of compassion and mercy.” Meanwhile other feline guests are known to sit in on Imam Efe’s sermons alongside human congregation members.