To say my visit to the Islamic Center was enlightening is a vast understatement. In the short time I was there, my eyes were opened to what Islam and Muslims really are and what their beliefs mean.
When I arrived the first thing I had to do was remove my shoes. This is part of their custom and of my immediate thoughts were how badly I am in need of a pedicure. I was greeted by the Imam (an Imam is like a preacher or priest) of the center, a young man from Morocco who is here in Asheville teaching the practice of Islam. He had previously warned me that his English was not so good, but I found him to be very articulate and quite easy to understand. With him was a Dr. B, another local Muslim who was kind enough to join him in explaining Islam to me. I can not thank them enough for their time and all the information they so graciously provided me with.
They began by explaining to me that Islam means peace and submission, and that Allah is just another name for God. There are many names for God, this is just another. They went on to talk about the five pillars of Islam and the six articles of faith. The Pillars of Islam are the actions of the limbs and body, and the articles of faith are the actions of the heart
The first pillar is that there is one God and one God only. I was correct in my knowledge that contrary to what many believe and what I have actually heard some people claim, Muslims DO have the same God as Christians and Jews. Islam is very much a monotheistic religion. This is much like Judaism, I was in fact, surprised at the similarities between the two religions.
The second pillar of Islam is prayer. Muslims pray five times a day. There is dawn, morning, afternoon, sunset and evening prayers, each prayer lasts about 10 minutes and the total time for praying each day is roughly about an hour. They were kind enough to let me sit in for their evening prayer time. There is a lot of kneeling and bowing involved. I would like to visit a standard mosque so I could accurately compare Islam to other places of worship, but the Islamic Center was very plain. There were no statues, or other idol symbols present. Women generally pray in the back of the mosque, this is not because women are considered inferior to men, but for modesty reasons, something I will touch on later.
The third pillar of Islam is fasting on Ramadhan. I was incorrect in my assumption that they abstain from food altogether, they can actually eat before and after dawn on each day of the fasting ritual. Ramadhan is considered a time to cleanse the soul. Not only is food avoided, but also smoking, and basically anything else that is ill natured. It occurs the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which this year fell in Aug through Sept. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted.
The fourth pillar of Islam is to give to charity. They believe in giving 2.5% of their overall savings to charitable actions and the needy. Charity seems to be very important in Islamic faith.
The fifth pillar is is making a lifetime pilgrimage to mecca, if it is within your means. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia regarded as the holiest meeting place in Islam. It is the birthplace of the prophet Mohammad. Mohammad is an important figure in Islam. He is regarded as the last prophet and he received the word of God through the angel Gabriel and compiled that into what is regarded as the Koran. The holy scripture for Muslims. I found it interesting that Muslims also follow the Old as well as the New Testament. They disregard anything that doesn't follow the Koran, but they do regard the aforementioned as the word of God.
There are six articles of faith. The first is absolute belief in God. It is OK to question God, but to not believe means everything is "shattered". This struck a chord with me as my own wavering of faith sometimes does leave me feeling "shattered". The second article is to believe in Gods angels, there are many angels, including the ones we are all familiar with. Gabriel, Micheal and Raphael. As I mentioned before, Gabriel is considering the angel that is regarded as the angel that gave the Koran to Mohammad. The fourth article of faith is to believe in all the prophets of God. That includes, Jesus and Mohammad. The fifth article of faith is The Day of Judgement. That is when Jesus will arise and lead the world to peace. The sixth article of faith is belief in the supremacy of Gods will.
One thing I was surprised to learn was just how much Muslims follow the teachings of Jesus. He is believed to have been a prophet and a very important one at that. It is believed that he will come back as the messiah, will follow Islam, fight the anti-Christ and lead to the world to peace. Jesus was born of a virgin and was not the man on the cross the day of the crucifixion. He was "lifted up" by God before it took place.
We hear so much about how women are treated in the Islamic faith, this was a topic I couldn't wait to get into. Yes, women are expected to dress modestly. They are to cover their hair, arms, legs and chest. In some cultures they were a burka, this is not a requirement except in certain places. This is their culture, they are not forced to do these things, it is what they believe according to their faith and how they live. Women are allowed to work, to learn, etc. They are not required to stay home, although the culture does seem to have more traditional roles for men and women. Men are the breadwinners and expected to take care of their families, women are the nurturers and generally care for the home and the children.
Islamic dietary laws are very similar to Judaic dietary laws. They don't eat pork, or predatory animals, nor do they drink. Seafood is generally deemed to be OK.
I went on to ask them what their thoughts on 9/11 was. They both said that that was a grave sin. That to kill an innocent person is the WORST thing an Muslim can do. This is what I already thought to be true, from what I had already known about Muslims, they are a peace loving people. They are NOT the ones that attacked us, a radical extremist group did. We can not put blame on one set of people for what a small group is responsible for.
As I was leaving they provided me with a copy of the Koran. I have not read it yet, but would like to read through it at some point. I asked about that quote from the Koran that I keep hearing mentioned over and over. Something about "killing the infidels", this is spouted off over and over by people as their proof that Muslims are "out to get us". It is a reference taken out of context. The original quote just means that one is to defend oneself. Sound familiar? An eye for an eye maybe?
I learned so much in my meeting with the Islamic Center, while its different than what we are all used to, its just another form of worshiping God. Muslims are different from other religions, but very much the same in some respects. I wish everyone would take the time to do what I am doing and get out there ad realize, technically, we are all just the same.
