by Fauzi Labidi and Norma Tarazi
On December 7, 1994 a group of students in a theology class visited the Omar Ibn ElKhattab Mosque to learn about Islam. The program started with the Isha Prayer at 7 P.M. The visitors sat down to watch the way Muslim perform their prayers. Once the prayer was over, Brother Ashraf Sabrin presented a hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) that highlights the embryological growth of the fetus in the womb. The point was to show how the Prophet, (PBUH) through revelation from God, knew scientific facts hundreds of years prior to their discovery.
The meeting then separated a bit as most of the women of the group entered the ladies prayer area to meet with some sisters who had come to the prayer. The mostly men's meeting continued with questions and answers session led by Br. Hani Saqr. The main questions raised by the guests as well as some of the responses were:
"Why were there more men than women in the mosque?" A sister responded to this question by saying that men and women in Islam have different responsibilities and it is not mandatory upon women to pray in the mosque. She added that the sisters do not usually gather during the Isha Prayer because of their family responsibilities during that time.
"What's the most difficult thing you faced when you first came to America?" was addressed to immigrant Muslims. Some of the response were: the materialistic nature of life, the absence of God in the lives of people, the deteriorating moral values (crime, teenage pregnancy, ...) The sister's discussions were informal and spontaneous.
They were asked a lot about the role of Muslim women. It was interesting to see that the women guests had respected the mosque to the point of wearing their idea of Islamic clothing to the meeting. They couldn't seem to understand that our sisters do not feel un-modern, that they feel not a need to modernize Islam, but instead a need to return to the practice of pure Islam, without the cultural contamination added on over the centuries. the guests also seemed surprised that the brothers served the refreshments, not the sisters.
The sisters suggested that future meetings of this type be kept informal, with perhaps a short opening and closing formal address to the group, and then a break up into smaller groups. As usual, sisters in the ladies section cannot properly participate in meetings held in the men's section, even with microphones.
Finally, Br. Khalid Farag thanked the guests for taking their time for stopping by to learn about Islam. He added that this kind of event should be repeated in the future.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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