May 1994 The Sign In The Window

by Katie Abdullah

Recently I started a new job, working evenings at a gas station in the northeast quadrant of town. My husband, a recent immigrant from Egypt, comes with me, and we spend our time in the bulletproof booth helping customers, talking, reading, and learning about some aspects of American culture.

During our shift is Magrib, the early evening prayer. While we pray, we put a sign in the window, so that customers know we'll be back soon. We didn't feel comfortable using the "Shift changing, please wait" sign, because that wasn't what we were doing. We found a sign with "I'll be back in three minutes, but this was ineffective, as customers pounded on the window upon arriving, hoping, I assume, that I was near the end of my three minutes.

With one or both of these signs in the window, I would pray right in the front of the store or my husband and I would pray together in the back room, visible through the windows. After reading the sign and seeing us, customers would beat on the windows and shout, getting noisier when we didn't respond.

In Egypt, shopkeepers and clerks pray, right in the store. My husband wanted to maintain this practice here in the U.S., and I wanted to start the tradition myself. Hoping for an undisturbed prayer, I hand, lettered a sign which reads simply, "I'm praying. Please wait 3 min. Thank you." My husband and I felt sure that most people would respect this, even if they didn't understand exactly what we were doing. So far, no one has openly complained about having to wait while we fulfill our obligation to Allah (SWT). However, people have grimaced, pouted, thrown their money in the tray, and grumbled their purchase requests. Some people still pound on the window and shout!

One evening, after having difficulty concentrating on our salat, due to pounding and knocking, I lifted my sign up in front of the face of the waiting customer, who was scowling. After entering her order into the cash register, I thanked her for waiting, (yes, she probably heard the sarcasm in my I voice), and she sulked away. The ten-year old boy waiting behind her said, "I'm sorry, I didn't see the sign," and bought a candy bar. I smiled at him and thanked him , (sincerely) for waiting. My husband was encouraged to see such a young person have respect for religious activity. He took this as an indication, insha'Allah, that other persons, of all ages, would share this young man's respect.

Although many of the customers have been neither as patient, nor as respectful as we had hoped, we have received a few pleasant surprises. A day or two after the young man apologized, we finished salat and found waiting for us several customers, the first of whom was an older gentleman. "Did you pray for me?!", he asked enthusiastically. "No, sir," I answered. "But I will the next time I pray!" "OK!" he exclaimed with joy and hopping on one foot a bit, "I'm just glad to see someone's praying." I think he was surprised to see a woman wearing hijab (the head covering) and maybe he doesn't know much about Islam, but his appreciation was genuine. Since then, we have been asked about our religion and asked why we pray. It seems that people are adjusting to our praying, and we are adjusting to their reaction.

However, the enthusiasm of the older gentleman after one of our first evenings with the sign was contagious. The rest of our shift my husband and I talked and laughed, discussing the potential of the future. What if Muslims in all occupations had small signs to put in their windows or on their desks? "I'm praying. Please wait ten minutes. Thank you. If What if we gave our bosses and supervisors copies of the local prayer schedule, with prayers during working hours highlighted, so that they would know when we'd be taking our "coffee breaks"? What if we who own our own businesses had signs which read "This is a Muslim-owned business" and "Bismillah arRahman arRahim"?

By merely announcing our existence and exercising our right to pray, we would be sending such a powerful message to the non-Muslims around us that it would be making quiet yet constant da'wa (education making quiet yet constant da'wa (education - about Islam). Insha'AIlah, more and more Muslims will feel comfortable being open about Islam, and our presence in this country will become increasingly noticeable. But for now, I use a hand-lettered sign which reads: "I'm praying. Please wait 3 minutes. Thank you."