Place of Worship (back to top)

 
    The place of worship, if you are a Muslim, is a mosque. In the mosque there is one Qur'an and carpeted floors. Before you enter this place of worship you must remove your shoes. Every Friday a person will call on a loud speaker from the mosque. It is the "call to prayer" It is to remind people to come to the mosque.

Symbol (back to top)

    The symbol of Islam is the star and crescent. The crescent is there because the religion of Islam is based on the lunar calendar. The crescent also represents Islam because it marks the beginning of Ramadan.

Clothes (back to top)

    In the most traditional Islamic countries/societies (Saudi Arabia and Iran), women wear black dresses that go down to the feet with black veils covering the entire face except for the eyes. Men wear earth-toned tunics either in mosques or in everyday work. Out of religious circumstances women wear loose garments that are modest colors such as gray, blue, white, black and green.

Sects (back to top)

    Within the muslim community there are several sects that practice little rights not required in the five pillars if Islam. Two groups that do that are the Shiites and the Sufis. Some things that the Shiites do are self-inflicting damage on themselves, mourning for the prophet Ali's grandson's death. They also dance until their bodies can't stand it and they faint from exhaustion. The Sufi's dance the dance of the dervishes. They do it to get closer to God.

Holidays (back to top)

1. New Year

The First of Muharram marks the New Year. The date fluctuates (in the Gregorian calendar) from year to year as it is based on the Islamic lunar calendar.
 
 

2. Ashura

Ashura is celebrated on the ninth and tenth in the month of Muharram. The word ashura means "ten" and is a time of fasting, reflection and meditation. Jews of the city of Medina fasted on the tenth day in remembrance of their salvation from the Pharaoh. The Prophet Muhammad pledged he would fast for two days instead of one in this same remembrance, but he died the following year and so never fasted as he had hoped.

For many Muslims there is joy in commemorating all of the wonderful events traditions say occurred on this day, including: Noah's ark came to rest, the Prophet Abraham was born, the Kaaba was built. Among Shiite Muslims, it is a day of special sorrow commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson ,Hussain, and his followers at the battle of Kerbala in Islam's first century. It is commemorated in Shiite communities with a reenactment of these events and is a time of mourning.
 
 

3. Mawlid Al-Nabi

Mawlud Al-Nabi is the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. It occurs on the twelfth of Rabi Al-Awal of the Islamic calendar. Speeches are given about the life of the Prophet in gatherings, and dinners are held. This occasion was not celebrated in the early times of Islam and is therefore unevenly celebrated today, with great and festive celebrations in many Muslim countries (i.e. Egypt and Turkey) and none in others (i.e. Saudi Arabia).
 
 

4. Isra wa Al - Miraj

Laylat Al-Isra wa Al-Miraj("the night journey and ascension") commemorates the journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Jerusalem, his ascension into the seven heavens, and his return in the same night. These events acknowledge that all the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) have one and the same God as their source.

On this night, Muslims believe, the Prophet was instructed to establish the five daily prayers in their current form. On this night, Muslims believe, Muhammad prayed together with Abraham, Moses and Jesus in the area of the Al-Aqsa mosque. The rock from which he is believed to have ascended to heaven to speak with God is the one seen inside the Dome of the Rock. Isra wa Al-Miraj as it is sometimes called is celebrated on the twenty-seventh of Rajab of the Islamic calendar.

5. Ramadan