Religion and Voice

From the current readings and redirection in my voice, the focus continues to be on Islam.  The things that interest me is in the teachings but also in the daily routines of a devote Muslim.  Through contacts that I met in my cultural trip to the festival, I come to find answers in some of the aspects of religion.

When structuring your time, how do you take into account the prayer ceremony that takes place numerous times a day?

The prayer ceremony, or salah, is performed five times a day.  The purpose of this is to praise God and ask to show Muslims, the right way in life.  "With my occupation, I work with several other Muslims".  Throughout the day, John and others go to extra board room and perform their prayers.  Awareness is a big key for Muslims in the workforce.  Bosses who are unfamiliar with the culture "seem to be accommodating to our needs".  I can see though in other places where Muslims would not be the norm that it may be faced with prejudices.  John's co-workers are aware of this and they always, as a group, try to go at the same time.  When he has his days off, he usually go to a mosque to perform at least one of his prayers.

How do you advocate Islam in daily life?

From what was explained in my voice, John believes that she and him share the same devotion to promote the awareness of Islam and break stereotypes.  In the present, it seems that Islam gets "misinterpreted by zealots and terrorists".  He says "I try to make people understand that the truth of any religion is only as good as those who follow the teachings".  Just like any religion, mistakes of content is misinterpreted and people do terrible things and try to justify it with religion.  The important thing for people to remember is that Islam advocates peace.  For John, the important thing for" me is when faced with a question, that I remain calm and try to use my answer to benefit and educate".

Looking back, how has Islam impacted your life, spiritually and otherwise?

For John, just like Allah, "I am one with Islam and always have been".  Being raised from the beginning, it has helped John establish a routine.  But it has always given John great gratitude to know that he is apart of a larger universe.   Islam has given him strength and comfort to know that he am being watched and cared for but at the same time pushed to be true to the teachings of Muhammad. 

From my contact it seems that God is the ultimate example of challenge and support.  For Noor and my contact, they have been brought upon this Earth to serve others through morals and good deeds.  From Nash's definitions of believers, Noor seems to fall into the orthodox category but at the same time cannot be encompassed fully into this category (2001, p. 13).  This means that she is confident in her religion and that through Islam and her devotion that she can work to achieve her goals and be a servant to the greater good.  Noor has been raised with Islam and it is part of her just like others were raised Catholic or Buddhist.  Noor, through education, though wants to become an advocate for religious tolerance and believes that the best way to achieve this is to try to understand other religions and cultures as well.  Though she may hold firm to her beliefs, she is willing to explore others beliefs and customs for the greater good.  Since Noor is a full time student she is making it a priority to find groups and classes that cater to this desire for tolerance.

Resources:

Nash, R.J. (2001). Constructing a spirituality of teaching: A personal perspective. Religion and Education, 28 (1), 1-20.

Parks, S. (2005). The journey toward mature adult faith: A model. In M.E. Wilson & L.E. Wolf-Wendel (Eds.), ASHE reader on college student development theory (pp. 139-152). Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.