#79 Attend the services of the following churches: the Khadeeja Islamic Center

Can I start off by saying that I love Muslims?  I really do.  Even though they would seem more different from me (different language, different races, and different religion) than the people at the Rock, I felt more at home and less "other" there.

I had been wanting to come to a Friday prayer service (the closest thing they have to a church service, as I would define, since the Imam speaks at this prayer service) for several years.  But I've always been in school, either as a student or a teacher.  This summer I am free, so I decided I was going, whether I got anyone to come with me or not.  Turns out that my best friend Kristy wanted to come, and also loved it.  We drove up to Salt Lake and saw this building:

I saw the architecture and knew I was in the right spot!

The Imam gave his sermon (don't know if that's the proper word) in both Arabic and English.  Some people in attendance only spoke Arabic, and others only spoke English, so it made sense.  During the English portion of it, I noticed one main point emphasized: surrendering to God.  They mentioned it several times.  They also spoke of the connection between someone who is prostrating himself (as they do in their prayers) and Allah.  I thought it was poignant, and thought about that concept from my own beliefs.  I, too, believe in giving myself to God.  After all, my will is the only thing that is genuinely mine to give him.  I love the symbolism of altars.  I often think of putting my own will on the altar.

This is on the bottom floor.  If I'd looked down from the top, I'm sure I would've seen something like this.  That apse, by the way, points toward Mecca.

During the Arabic portions of the sermon, which seemed somehow more plentiful (or maybe I was just distractable), I turned my attention to people watching.  Here are some observations:

Race: I loved the different races of people I saw.  From what I could tell, it was about half Arab and half African.  If you know me, you know that I think other races are beautiful.  I couldn't help but watch these African girls with cherubic faces, wearing the head scarf, much like this one:

Beautiful

Clothing: I loved the clothing they wore.  Many of the women wore these linen dresses that went down past their knees, but had open slits up both sides (allowing movement), with cloth pants or leggings underneath.  They often have the hijabs (head scarves) matching the outfit they're wearing, and I LOVE it!  I think if I personally were wearing their outfits in my normal day-to-day, I'd feel out of place, but them wearing it is absolutely beautiful.

Community: We take off our shoes before we touch the carpet inside the mosque, which I love.  It reminds me of Moses, when the Lord told him to take off his sandals because where he stood was holy ground.  It seems respectful to take off our shoes.  It also makes me feel like I've taken off a layer of formality, and now I can relate more to these people.  The other thing that creates community is the fact that we're all sitting on the same carpet, not separated by chairs or benches.  I love it.

Even though it's not how I took it, both of these things are very practical, as was later explained to me by a young woman named Anom.  She said that we take off our shoes to keep the carpets clean (their heads touch the carpet in their prayers), and the carpet is like a bunch of individual prayer rugs.  The pentagon shape is not symbolic, but traditional for prayer rugs.  Like this:

At the end of the service, everyone stood and moved to the front of room (women are separate from the men, in an area at the top that I will explain later).  Since the last thing was said in Arabic, Kristy and I had no idea what was going on, but thought it'd be best to follow suit.  Immediately some girls asked us if we needed some head scarves (I thought it was odd that we weren't asked to do this earlier, as all of the practicing mosques that I've been to in the Middle East required them to enter), which we gladly accepted.  We then stood in line with everyone else, and another woman, Anom, came to ask if we were participating in the prayer.  We said we weren't--we were just visiting; and she took us to the back of the room where we sat and she answered all our questions.  Meanwhile, a man "sang" (they don't call it singing, but I think it sounds like the coolest singing I've ever heard) the call to prayer, and then everyone silently made salaat (the prayer they say 5 times a day).

This is the call to prayer.  This is at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, where I went a year ago.  Doesn't it sound like singing?  But with your throat more open?  I love this sound.  The video is super long, but just listening to the first few seconds will give you an idea.

This is how to do the prayer.  I like it because it explains what to do and provides an English translation.  From what I've experienced, however, people do this silently.

Kristy and I both love talking to people, so I'm sure we were both hoping for an experience like what we got.  I've taken a class on Islam, but I learned some new things from Anom!  Here's a sampling of what we learned:

5 pillars of Islam: These are saying the creed (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet), praying 5 times a day, fasting during the month of Ramadan, alms to the poor (they give 2.5% of their income), and pilgrimage to Mecca.  This I already knew.  However, I didn't know when it was expected.  Anom explained that it is expected that a person will be obedient to these things starting at puberty, so it's "different for every person."  She said that it was great that some kids were participating in the prayer, but the kids who weren't participating were totally fine.

Sin: This was the first time I've heard of the concept of sin in Islam.  She said that when you willfully disobey any of the 5, you are sinning.  I asked her if you needed to go to the Imam to resolve this or if you could do it on your own, and she said that you do it on your own through prayer.  She said that you don't need an intermediary.  She also informed me that there are other prayers besides the salaat prayer that you can say, and you can also do free-form, using your own words for prayer.

Women: The boy that took us from the men's section to the women's section (yeah, we accidentally came through the wrong door) explained to us that in Islam women are "higher" than men (that's the first time I'd heard that).  That is why they are on top, on the second floor, above the men.  He said that, "we view every woman as our mother, and give her that respect."  Anom reiterated his point, saying that men respect women a lot in Islam.  She also explained that separated helps the men to not be distracted in their thoughts, since the movements of the prayer can be distracting (her words!).  I thought that was cool.  You always hear that women are oppressed in Islamic countries.  It's nice to hear that when Islam is practiced correctly, women are respected.

Since this post is already long, I think I'll end here.  But if you have any questions or thoughts on Islam, please post them as a comment.  I personally love these people and feel badly that they are not always the best understood by our society.

Even though I've only visited two of the churches I listed, I felt the desire to give my dollar for this goal in advance.  I donated to the mosque as they were sending around a collection container.  I feel pretty good about it.  :)