Prayer Time

I recently met a really nice Muslim woman and we have become friends, sort of. The language barrier is difficult, but her English isn't too bad. I'll tell you more about her later. But the best thing for me, getting to know her, is that I have been able to ask her questions about her religion. As you may know, we are not allowed to speak of our religion to a Muslim AT ALL. But they can talk to us, and I am a believer in the idea that if you want to know something about someone, ask them. If you want to know about a Mormon, ask a Mormon - not a your Catholic priest.

So I've been asking.

I ask around. The man that cleans my house, our taxi drivers, this gal, Nedya, and I have Peter on the hunt to get people to talk too. So what I am about to tell you is information from a few different sources. But most importantly I will tell you this; Islam is full of variation. From one mosque to the next, region, family, country, even hemisphere. It's almost like when we use the term "Christian," we are encompassing many many religions. Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, etc. There is no international regulation. They all read the Koran and follow the basic teachings of Mohammad, but there is room for much interpretation for even this. This is why their dress is SO different everywhere; amongst many other things. Here, they were the abaya and even the birka. (totally covered) Yet Nedya, who is from Algeria, just covers her head and wears loose fitting, modest clothing. (modest being down to her wrists and ankles) And, BTW, she always looks adorable.

So Susan asked me about prayer times. And this is the bit of information I know.

First off, did you know that Islam is the largest religion in the world, AND the fastest growing? And if you're like me, I know nothing about it. I feel so silly for being so naive. Shouldn't I know something about the world I live in? Perhaps I have been a little scared and stand offish due to recent events in history. I don't know. But in any case, The Call to Prayer happens five times a day ALL over the world.

Prayer times follow the sun. The times of sunrise and sunset effect each day. So every few days, the times vary just a bit. ( This is why I keep getting stuck out during prayer.) The first one is sunrise, and here that can be near 3 am. Next is around 11:30 or so. Then early afternoon, like 3:30 I think, then an early evening, like 5:30 or six, I think that's the sundown one. The sun sets really early here. Then, an evening one, like 7 or so. Here, they publish the times and we have a card telling you what time they will be, on what days. If only I carried that with me! Duh.

Each prayer lasts a different amount of time. From 30 to 45 minutes. And I think I shouldn't say the prayer lasts that long, prayer TIME lasts that long. Each call to prayer the "caller", which has a certain title, says something different. And, as you may know, it is "sung". That's kind of a loose term, as sometimes it is beautiful, and sometimes sounds like an animal in pain. Just depends on the guy. I'll find out more what they say, but I know the morning prayer says something like," God is great, come to prayer, prayer is better than sleep..."

Just before it's time, you can see people running everywhere trying to get where they're getting. Lights in stores turn out, doors closed and covered, gates come down, closing the shops, people are hurrying to wash, skittering here and there to get to prayer. In so many ways, it's beautiful. But in many others, very strange.

So in this country, it is totally illegal to stay open during prayer. (except on our camp, we're VERY spoiled here) A few really big stores will let you stay in and shop. Although, they wouldn't say "shop". You can just be in there. So basically, you can shop, but no purchasing. And this is only at places like Ikea or Tamimi's. (Tamimi's is Safeway/Kroger) These places are an hour from here, so it doesn't apply to me that often. If you get into these big stores before prayer starts, you can stay. Some will let you in during prayer, but like I said - no buying. 99% of stores close totally. You have to leave. If you aren't done, too bad, you'll have to come back later. As far as I understand, these big stores have a small mosque in the back, or somewhere, where employees can pray. But in most stores, the staff all leave and go the the local mosques. They are everywhere, really. We have several on camp, and off - they are on every block. Some just tiny, some big and beautiful. I don't think most countries are like this. Maybe to some extent. Again, I need to ask more.

Keep in mind that just because it's prayer time, doesn't mean everyone does. The stores close, but you still see people all over the place. Like with any religion, some people are very faithful, and some are not. But here, whether you go or not, everywhere closes down five times a day. On top of the prayer closures, all stores close from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This covers two prayer times, and gives them a sort of siesta. But a 4.5 hour siesta? Really? Again, Ikea isn't closed this long. The long closure isn't manditory, just the prayer ones. But I only know one store that reopens after the second prayer of the day. People tell me the long daily closure stems from earlier days, when they didn't have AC and the heat of the day was unbearable. (like it still is, but we have AC)

Men are the only one's that are expected to go to prayer. Apparently women can, but I've never seen them. You don't have to go to mosques to pray either. While I was at Nedya's, she started speaking abruptly in Arabic to her 11 year old daughter, her daughter hopped up, ran to the closet, grabbed a small carpet and ran it to her grandpa's room. "Excuse her," Nedya said, "My father needs to pray." Her parents are visiting for three months here, so her father was at home, but in another part of the house. Her husband works on a rig, two weeks gone and one week home. I asked someone if a husband and wife can pray together at home, which was yes. There is a small section, walled off from the rest, at some mosques, for women. But for the most part, it seems like prayer is for men.

In a world where so many people believe in nothing, no God at all. I see the beauty in being faithful to anything. Even if it's not what I believe. Recently, on a windy afternoon, we were leaving the beach. It was late in the afternoon, heading to dusk. Sitting under a tree was a local family, mostly women. The father of the group stood up, reached for his prayer rug, laid it in the grass, and began to pray. His robes and head dress where flowing in the breeze as he rose and fell in prayer. Up and down. It really is beautiful. So many of the worlds religions stem from ancient times, traditions and temples. Again, while I don't believe what they do. I sure admire the faithful. Not very many people in the world today have a conviction in anything. Let alone, God.