Growing up in Iowa and then living in Texas, I’ve had very little first-hand experience living in an area that has a substantial Islamic community. While Jalingo is predominantly Christian, there is a definite Muslim presence and I have had the opportunity to learn a lot from random observations as well as from a few of my Muslim friends.
Yesterday, I was walking home from the internet and wanted to get a pure water to replace some of my fluids however, when I approached the shop, I realized that it was closed. Never mind, that I knew the shop owner was a Muslim and I had walked by numerous mosques prior to reaching the shop where I had observed people praying their final prayer of the day during sundown, I am still not programmed to think about the day in terms of the 5 Islamic prayer times. However, it’s very common to find shops closed, fruit stands vacated and wheelbarrows abandoned while they stop everything to pray.
While I have to admit it can be slightly inconvenient when I want to buy oranges, it is helpful to hear the call to prayer at 5:00am every morning as it encourages me to get out of bed to run (and pray!) I figure if thousands of people in Jalingo can get out of bed and go to their mosque to pray, I should be able to get out of bed to have my own devotional time with God as I run on the dark and quiet streets.
After living here for about 6 months, it randomly dawned on me that I only see men praying at the mosques! Wait a minute, where are the women?!? I discovered that women are required to pray in their homes so as not to distract the men or cause them to sin. This is the same rationale that is the basis for the women wearing the long veil-like head coverings. Yet, the men are allowed to have four wives. While I respect their faith and ways of seeking to honor it, I question why the men can’t simply control themselves to allow the women to live more freely. Why must the women make all the sacrifices? I think my new mission is to befriend a female Muslim as my only first-hand sources of information now are men and a copy of the Koran that was given to me. I am confident that I will be able to get a better understanding from a woman!
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4 comments:
good luck with that my friend! when i was in qatar the veiled ladies weirded me out! i tried not to look at them!
I think that by befriending one I'll be able to better understand and appreciate their perspective! :)
I have a male friend who's muslim, and from what he's told me, I don't think the practice of polygamy is in keeping with the teaching of the Koran. Just like we, as Christians, don't follow everything in our scriptures, neither do they! I've loved reading and catching up on your blog! I've laughed and cried and enjoyed your thoughts and insights! I posted comments on some of your older posts if you have a minute to read them!
I believe that most (if not all) people, no matter the culture, just want to be seen, not ignored. Deciding to see beyond the veil and care for the woman underneath would be such a blessing. May God guide all your conversations and the heart behind it.
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