Two Encounters of Mothers and Daughters Interfaith Encounter Group - on 31st January and 26th February 2009:

January 31st: Prayer in Islam

Prayer is one of the main commandments – the pillars of Islam.

The number of prayers in Islam is five and all Muslims should pray them. The Muslim, then, prays every day the morning prayer, noon prayer, afternoon prayer, evening prayer and night prayer.

It is possible to pray alone, in any place that is pure, but it is preferable to pray with a community and in a Mosque. The main part of the prayer is the movements, while the text is short and simple. The movements include: standing and lifting the hands, bending the body forward while standing, kneeling and lowering the head to the floor and seating on the knees. Muslims pray on a small rug.

During the prayer Muslims say "Allah Akbar" – God is the Greatest, and read the opening chapter of the Quran as well as other verses.

The community prayer on Fridays and Holidays is performed in the Mosque in the settlement or neighborhood. Women participate in a separate section. This prayer differs from the everyday prayer by two additional "Raqaa's" (cycles of kneeling) and by the "Hutba" – the sermon delivered before the prayer on Friday and after the prayer on Holidays, by the preacher, the "Hatib". The sermon includes preaching on religious issues, sometimes also daily issues, and blessings to the Prophet.

The community prayer is led by the "Imam". The believers stand behind him in lines and follow his movements.

In both private and community prayers the believer faces Mecca. In Arabic the direction of prayer is called "Qibla" and Muslims in every generation and every place face it in their prayers.

Prior to every one of the daily prayers, the Muslim performs partial purification, i.e. washing the hands up to the elbows, the legs up to the ankles and the face.

The Mosque is the special place for the Muslim prayer. The worshipers stand parallel to its long side with their faces towards Mecca. The Mosque is characterized by a special minaret for the "Muazin" to call for the prayer.

February 26th:

This time we held the encounter in a different way. We all set around the table, mothers and daughters, and each in her turn directed a question to one of the others. After she ended answering the question – it was her turn to ask someone else. The mothers also took part in asking and answering. We continues in this way and it was a nice opportunities to get to know each other better.

Then the girls played a game in which they used both languages and had a lot of fun.

Reported byMariam Hussein

(* We deeply thank the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds for their kind support to the work of this group this year)


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