HAJJ:
About 2 million Muslims from more than 70 countries journey to the holy city of
The five Pillars of Islam form the framework of Islamic life. They represent the five actions a Muslim must fulfill to achieve salvation.
Islam: Key facts
• Islam is considered one of three major world religions, along with
Judaism and Christianity.
• Islam is strictly monotheistic, and its central teaching is that
there is one all-powerful, all-knowing God who created the
universe. God is referred by the Arabic name, Allah.
• In Arabic, Islam means "surrender" or "submission" --
to the will of God. Followers are known as Muslims, an
Arabic word that means "one who surrenders to God."
• Islam says all Muslims are equal before God, and all
Muslims belong to one community, regardless of ethnic
or national background.
• Islam was founded by the prophet Mohammed, who
Muslims believe was the last and most important in a series of
prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
• According to Islam, the angel Gabriel appeared to
Mohammed and informed him that he was God's chosen messenger.
• Mohammed was born in
settled in
was ever born, a key difference with the Christian belief
that Jesus was born the son of God.
• The holy book of Islam is the Koran, which means
"the timeless words of God." It has 114 chapters and
comprises the main teachings of Islam.
• The Koran portrays Mohammed as a human being
who sometimes makes mistakes but who never sins
against God. Mohammed's humanity serves as a
reminder that other humans can also aspire to lead a good life.
• The core practices of Islam are known as the
Five Pillars: daily prayer, faith, fasting, pilgrimage and alms
giving. For more information, go here.
• There are an estimated 1 billion Muslims, with
The faith is considered the world's fastest growing religion.
• There are several sects and traditions within
Islam, including Shia Islam, Sunni Islam and Sufism.
Sunni Muslims constitute the vast majority of the world's Muslims.
• Islamic law forbids the artistic representation of God,
the prophets and -- sometimes -- of human beings in general.
At the pilgrimage, men,
women pray side by side
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"Heaven is at your mother's feet."
That's what many naughty Muslim children are told
when they're misbehaving. It's supposed to represent
not only the importance of the role of motherhood in
Islam, but also how women are definitely not inferior
to men. Children are being told that there's nothing
higher than their mother. So, it makes the critics ask,
"Why do Muslim women seem to have fewer rights
than their men?"
In theory, they don't. For about 1,500 years, women
under Islamic laws have had rights that might have
surprised their counterparts in other religions, such
as the right to independent wealth and property --
which can even be kept private from a woman's husband.
One staunch feminist living in
an interview that the arrival of Islam,
particularly in Middle Eastern countries, actually improved
conditions for women. She said before then, the pagan, often
nomadic, tribes treated women like easily discarded property.
Islam set standards that looked after women's interests and
protected them from men.
The feminist added that, sadly, things don't always develop
the right way, and that modern laws and restrictions don't
always reflect what Islam had intended all those centuries
ago. Women aren't allowed to drive cars in
example, and the extent to which a woman has to cover her
face and body in some places also peeves those demanding
that the religion modernise. After all, cars hardly
cluttered the desert at the dawn of Islam.
The feminist said she had to live with a strange mixture
of frustration and pride in her religion.
Equality is not always that easy to judge. It's common
in Muslim countries such as
to notice that men are far more visible than women in
public places. Often that's because the culture is much more
traditional. The woman's role is to stay at home and bring
up a family, while the husband goes out to work.
But the degree to which a woman will cover herself varies
from country to country. Pakistani women dress in
anything from Western clothes to more conservative
traditional "pajama"-style outfits. In an officially secular
country such as
modern Western clothing, including figure-hugging jeans.
In
common to witness the all-encompassing black tent-
like "burqa." Interpretation of Islam varies. That's
where most problems within the religion arise.
To some strict, traditional Muslims, music and
dancing is a total no-no. Other Muslim cultures
revel in song and dance.
At the Hajj, men and women walk together and pray
together. Mosques around the world are generally
segregated into sections keeping the sexes apart.
To some degree that would present a major problem
at the pilgrimage. It's easy enough to get lost in the
huge crowds. The last thing the gathering needs is
thousands of men and women trying to find their
spouses and children after prayers. There are groups
from some countries that prefer to remain apart in
the Great Mosque, although not straying too far
from each other. The atmosphere is relaxed.
No one is tense that the segregation rules they
follow at home are put aside in Islam's most holy mosque.
In this respect, performing the Hajj is also an
education. It almost challenges convention.
In Arabic, the Great Mosque is called
"Al-Haram" ... the Sanctuary. It may surprise some,
but it's a sanctuary, equally, for men and women.
1 comment:
"After all, cars hardly cluttered the desert at the dawn of Islam."
haha very true. I personally think in the past there was a need for religion, but the future is away from that.
You were in a coma for a month? wow...um, how was that?You don't have to answer.
Peace. :)
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