Tag: Islam
At Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, Muslim children sit in tents, pray, throw stones, and make seven circuits around a replica of the Ka’ba as part of a mock hajj, the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca. More
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia describes the rituals and spiritual significance of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival marking the end of the month-long Ramadan fast. More
Some mosques use the month of Ramadan as an opportunity to educate friends and neighbors about Islam. The Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia encourages members of its congregation to bring non-Muslim friends to their iftar dinners, the meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik describes how the program ties the community together. More
“Women have for a long time felt shut out from mosques everywhere. And so instead of trying to argue against whether this women’s mosque should exist or not, they should really be looking at their own communities and wondering how they can make them a more welcoming place for everyone,” says Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, one of the preachers at the all-female Women’s Mosque of America. More
“Islam believes fundamentally that the spiritual and material worlds are inextricably connected. Faith is a force that should deepen our concern for our worldly habitat, for embracing its challenges, and for improving the quality of human life.” More
“For us it’s very important to hold onto our faith and to do that in a space where it’s encouraged, to engage your intellect but also to remember it goes with your faith, and they are not separate,” says Aisha Ibrahim, a student at Zaytuna. More
“I would caution us against thinking that being against one group isn’t going to spill over and hurt many more people,” says Dalia Mogahed, a Muslim-American scholar and director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. More
“If we look back in our families, we find that we’re all immigrants. Whoever they were, they were the stranger, they were the people who were looked upon as foreigners. For us to turn over and suddenly be prejudiced against some newcomers, this is denying our own heritage.” More
“If ISIS is allowed to define the terms of this engagement then they’ve pretty much won the battle. We have to understand them and meet them where they’re coming from but not capitulate, not really surrender to the terror they’re trying to spread, because that’s the victory they are looking for,” says Rabbi Jack Moline, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance. More
“People are going back to the basic texts, and they’re stripping away centuries of culture and tradition and looking for what they see at the heart of the religion,” says American journalist Carla Power, author of If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran. More