I have always found “Islamophobia” to be a cringe-worthy
word. I hear about it in the news, read about it online, and now that I live in
a Muslim village, I aware of it now more than ever. My fellow Peace Corps
Volunteer, Jen McArdle, wrote a very eloquent blog post about her experience
with Islamophobia. You can read about it here.
She literally took the words right out of my mouth. Instead
of repeating any of her brilliance, I’d like to take a moment and share aspects
of my Muslim community that I find beautiful. I feel like I don't write enough about my experience with Islam and I wanted to take this day as an opportunity to share. Wednesday, October 14, 2015 is
the Islamic New Year. To celebrate, I would like to show you photos of my
experience with the religion of Islam and I want to tell you stories of
everyday kindness that I’ve seen here.
Let’s start with the
most audible form of Islamic beauty: Call to Prayer.
Many Muslims around the world pray five times a day. For each Adhan (the Arabic word for call to
prayer) the mosque near my house blasts a prayer from a loud speaker. The five
Adhans and the times for each prayer are:
1) Fajr –
before sunrise
2) Thuhr - just after noon
3) Asr – the mid-afternoon
4) Maghrib – after sunset
5) Isha – performed at night
My personal favorite is Maghrib. During this time, my host
parents shut all the doors in the house. No one is allowed to leave and the
house must remain quiet. I especially love Maghrib during rainy season. I love
listening to the mosque loudspeaker singing a beautiful Islamic prayer through
the pitter-patter of raindrops that fall on my clay ceiling. Maghrib is always
a peaceful house in my house.
Muslims and Dates
Huh? No…I’m still single. Why do you ask?
OHHHHH. You thought I was talking about dates. No, I’m talking about dates,
the fruit!
People eat dates during the month of Ramadan because dates
are known as the food Muhammad ate when he broke from his fast. I didn’t fast
during Ramadan, but one of my favorite things to do was to sit with my family
and eat a handful of dates every night. YUMMM
Prayer Group
Every Sunday evening at 6:30pm, I go to a prayer group with
my counterpart. Each member of the group pays a small fee of 3,000 Rupiah (about
25 cents) so that we can use the money to buy snacks and tea. The prayer session lasts
about 30 minutes. The women were nice enough to gift me a little booklet with
Yasin, which is one of the letters in the Quran. I’ve even started to learn
some of it!
I try to go to these prayer meetings every week, but when I
skip the women make sure to let me know that I was missed. They say things
like, “We missed you last week! We ate peanuts, your favorite!” or “The meeting
was at my house last Sunday. I wish you had come!”
 |
| My ibus and me (in the green head scarf) |
When I went home to America last June, they prayed for me to
have a safe flight home. As I was leaving, some of the women told me to call
them before I left America. “We will pray again for your safe flight back to
Indonesia,” they told me as they kissed both of my cheeks.
 |
| The prayer book the ibus gifted me |
Prayers for the big
moments
This leads me to my next favorite thing about living in a
Muslim village. Many people I have met here have offered to pray for me at some
point or another. My nephew was born last year, but he had to stay at the
hospital for an extra 2 weeks because he was born 3 pounds and 13 ounces. When
I told my host mom, she immediately put on her prayer dress and headed straight
for the mosque. “I will pray for him. What’s his name?” she asked as she rushed
out the door. It didn’t matter to her that my family is not Muslim. It didn’t
matter to her that she has never met my nephew or my sister. There was a
baby in trouble, so naturally she prayed for its health.
Saying Alhamdulillah
Alhamdulillah in Arabic means “Praise be to God.” I hear this
word a lot in Indonesia and I say it all the time. This word rolls
off the tongue and is appropriate for so many situations. When people ask me
how I’m doing, I say, “I’m great! Very healthy.” The response I always get is….
Alhamdulillah!
When I tell my students that I’m pushing the test to next
week....
Alhamdulillah!
When my host mother finishes a delicious meal she just
cooked...
Alhamdulillah!
When my Peace Corps stipend finally gets to my bank account....
ALHAMDULILAH!
Sometimes this phrase is even used as a call-and-respond
phrase. My bapak frequently comes into the house and just says, “ALLHUMDU….”
and everyone who is in the house (i.e. my host mom, host sisters, and me) says,
“…. LILAH!”
Saying Insha’Allah
Insha’Allah means “if Allah wills” or “God willing.” I’ve
heard this phrased used in situations that require hope. When my host sister
applied to university, she would tell people, “I will go to college in Malang,
Insha’Allah.” It’s as if she knew the power was out of her hands as soon as the
application was submitted and all she could do was hope. This phrase, in my
opinion, sounds beautiful every time I hear it.
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