Religion can be defined as a set of values, believes and practices that describes the relationship between humanity and divinity. Different religions in the world may or may not contain the considered virtues and elements of a real religion such as sacred places of worship, a supernatural being with divine power, rituals, sermons, sacrifices, adoration, music and prayers. However, every person has the right and freedom to practice any religion. Freedom of religion is the principle that allows an individual and community to practice religion or belief in teaching, worship and observance without any questioning or legal boundaries and government intervention.
In this research paper, I will carry out detailed research about religious practices of the Muslims in the United States. To get a clear understanding of this religion and relate it to my previous research on religion, I will interview MR. Omar located in Houston Texas.
Content part
From the Interview with MR. Omar, I was able to learn various aspects of the Muslim religion. This religion is considered the 2nd largest religion in the world. Islam is an Abraham monotheistic religion that teaches it believers that there is only one God Allah and his prophet is Mohammed. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of true faith and worship that was revealed to them a long time ago by prophets like Adam, Moses and Abraham. They consider the Quran to be the unaltered and only writing that Allah revealed his work to them.
I was also able to learn that the Muslim faith is built upon five main pillars. They include Shahadah which is an Islamic creed that declares the worship of one God and acceptance of Mohammed as Allah’s prophet, Salat a compulsory Muslim prayer that should be done five times in a day, Zakah this almsgiving for the poor and needy people, sawn is the fasting in Islam and the Hajj which the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. They also have substantial compliance with Sharia or Islamic law that is defined in the Quran. (Eleanor, 2007).
Muslims believes that the purpose of all human being’s life is the worship of Allah, the attainment of faith and a proper understanding of his character and nature. They also believe that humanity should follow Allah correctly and observe commandments as a slave obeys his master. Allah has created all human being with unique features that suits his requirements and revealed the Quran so that they can seek His guidance through it. The first duty of a Muslim is to His creator, worship and obeys his command; this is known as Haque-Allah. This is in line with most of the Christians and other believers teaching as all people dedicate their lives to the supernatural being or power their trust. These reflected what I had researched on about true believers, that they must devote their life and time to their religion.
MR Omar also taught me that Muslim believe in the in the Day of Judgment. According to the Quran teaching, physical death is not the end of life preferably it is the door to a higher and glorious form of life that draws them near to Allah, and this is governed by one’ deeds. They believe that in the Day of Judgment the universe will come to an end and the dead in Allah shall be resurrected, their deeds will be judged and awarded (Lajna, 1996). Being a Christian the Quran teaching where a direct reflection of what I knew about judgment day and its reward though it was contrary to what I found out on my research about judgment. In the bible, from Hebrews 9:27, “after death, the entire sinner’s life is over, and there is no life for them after death”.
It was quite abnormal to learn that Muslim carefully watch the news with extreme trepidation praying and which that a Muslim is not caught up in a terror act. This is not because they always predict that Muslims are terrorists but rather because in many instances where terror attacks happens the media coverage expresses extreme unjustified hatred towards Muslim. The Quran only talks about killing the idolaters and not non-believers (Quran 9:5).
On my research about religion, I had come across an article about believer’s symbols that they use to demonstrate their faith. Taking, for example, the Christian, mostly Catholics use a symbol like the symbol of the cross. From my interview, I found out that the Muslim use symbols like the star and crescent and wearing of beautiful silk garment of green to show their faith. The interview questions finding indicated no much difference from my research about Islamic religion and what they trust.
Conclusion
The interview and research on Islamic was a great opportunity that allowed me to have a better understanding of Islamic and other religions. Being not much dedicated to religion, I found it extremely interesting to learn about Islam faith, as I have always wanted to explore the experience of a real Muslim and to get a better understanding of why people think that Muslims are terrorists. Although I can say that I believe in all aspect of religion, I think this research and interview have changed my view about the Islamic faith. However, there is much to be learned from Muslim religion and more unanswered questions to be asked, but I think I should continue seeking.
References
1. Eleanor. A. Doumato. Teaching Islam (Gregory. S, 2007)
2. Lajna Imaillah. Pathway to Paradise (1996)
3. The Holy Quran
4. The New testament
