708 Pine Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903
How is Compassion Practiced Within
the Islamic Religion?
Jumma Prayer Experience
On December 2nd, our World Religion Intensive visited the Islamic Society of Central Virginia’s (ISCV) mosque. We arrived at the ISCV to hear the weekly Jumma Prayer 1:30 service. We were warmly welcomes by Karim Ginena, a proud member of the ISCV. When we entered, the men gathered at the front of the room and the women sat toward the back. This gender separation during Muslim worship is required throughout the service. We then observed a sermon led by a guest Imam, Imam Tyler, who spoke about the power of giving. He started the sermon with Arabic and later switched to English. He spoke with passion and enthusiasm, holding his fellow worshipers with every persuasive word. One observation we made during the service were the individual prayers that each person performed as the came into the room before they began listening to Imam Tyler. After the Imam had finished, we observed the Jumma Prayer, meaning, "community prayer." Similar to Chrisitanity having their weekly worship on Sunday morning, Islam Jumma Prayer always takes place on Friday afternoon. The process of the Jumma Prayer was very focused and formal. Everyone performed each movement in unison with Imam Tyler, whilst individually whispering the Jumma Prayer to themselves in Arabic. After the had service ended, we were approached by several women who were memebers of the ISCV, they were very curious to find out what we thought about the service and eager to teach us more about their religion. When most people had left the mosque, we proceeded to take a tour of the rest of the building. There were seven different daycare rooms and learning spaces for the younger members of the ISCV. Karim Ginena made it very clear that educating people about islam was very important to him. We then went back down to the main worship room of the mosque and had a Q&A with some of the key members of ISCV. Our visit to the ISCV mosque was very special and unique. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to better understand the Islamic religion through meeting new members of our Charlottesville community.
Basic Facts about Islam
Making up almost a quarter of the worlds population, Islam has quickly become the second largest religion in the world. The word Islam means "submission to the will of god". The core belief within the followers of Islam (Muslims) is that there is only one god, Allah. Muslims practice the Five Pillars of Islam daily, these pillars are key in the understanding of the religion. They are:
1. Shahada -- Declaration of faith
2. Zakat -- Paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy
3. Salat -- Praying five times a day
4. Sawm and Ramadam -- Fasting
5. Hajj -- Prilgrimage to Mecca
Muslims practice their belief by the words of Allah, which are recorded in Quran. The word of god was memorized by the Prophet Muhammad and then spread to his companions. Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570. At the age of 40, while engaged in a meditative retreat, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. He then began to recite the words he had heard from Gabriel, and began to preach the truth which God had revealed to him.
There are an estimated 7 million Muslims in America, and almost 2,000 mosques nationwide. The Muslim community within America is made up of people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. It is a continuously growing religion practiced all around us. Regarding the events taking place in our world today, the rapid growth of this religion makes it impartive that we understand and attmept learn more about the Islamic religion.
Our Discussion with Community Members at the ISCV
After the Jumma Prayer, we were welcomed by members of the ISCV community and had the opportunity to have a disccussion with the board members. We had the privilege of getting to pose a few questions...
The Questions:
- How do you practice compassion in Islam?
- What were some important/key moments in your spiritual journey?
- What would you say is the current situation of the Islamic religion and Muslims in Central Virginia since the election?
When asked our most important question: How to practice compassion in Islamic religion, a few members noted that, “compassion is compassion, and it can be manifested in many ways, it is just found in our hearts, no matter your religion."
The question regarding key moments in the Islamic religion was very open-ended. The most popular answer was undeniably the pilgrammage to Mecca, otherwise known as Hajj. Haj is the most sacred travel that a Muslim endures in their lifetime. Most only get to experience Hajj once in their life, few get the privelege of going multiple times. The holy trip to Mecca was described as being one of the defining moments of a Muslim's spiritual journey. According to people of the Islamic faith, there is nothing more special than the experience of Hajj.
When the question of the election was raised, the overall positive outlook on the entire situation suprised many of us. The Charlottesville community has provided the ISCV with abounding support and love, they have recieved countless letters which hang on the inside walls of the Mosque. An unexpected large amount of people attended the ISCV's open house recently, showing support for our Islamic community.
Mouadh Benamar, a current student at UVA and a dedicated member of the ISCV, expressed that the result of the election has little to do with his concerns of future safety of Muslims in America. The accusations made against his fellow people of Islam due to extreme acts of terrorism, Benamar believes, holds the realest threat to the Muslim community in America. "Donald Trump has never hurt me," said Benamar, "I will not have a true problem with him until he does." Although there are still lingering fears of safety within the Muslim community and many questions of what the future holds, we were reassured that the members of the ISCV have been overjoyed with the love and support shown from the Charlottesville community, and members of the ISCV are keeping a positive outlook on the future.
After our discussion, the members of the ISCV expressed that as students, the best way that we can support the Islamic Society is by learning and understanding the religion.
By: Aliie, Kevin and Tatum