The documentary is a twenty-eight minute clip of Dennis Wholey interviewing Iman Hassan Qazwini. Coming into this section of the course, I had no previous knowledge over the religion of Islam. I even had to Google what it meant to be Muslim, which I now know refers to someone who follows or practices Islam. The term Islam translates to “submission”, which Qazwini explains is a submission to God. Muslim translates to “the submitter, the one who submits to God.” The majority of Muslims are Sunni (about 70%-80%), and the rest of the population are Shia. The most populous Muslim country is Indonesia with about 210 million Muslims, while only 18% of the Muslim population is Arab. The goal of Islam is to preach God’s unity.
In terms of creation, Muslims believe God created Heaven and Earth and God created Adam for human creation, even though the Angels argued against it. Muslims believe that evil comes only from the human being and not God. To them, God only does good and sin is made by the human being. They also believe in a Heaven and a Hell, and after death there is a separation of the soul from the body. For prayer, the mosque is the typical place for worship. On Friday afternoons, sermon and prayer take approximately one hour, and prayer on Monday and Wednesday nights take about twenty minutes. During prayer, bowing is a reference to submission to God. Men are typically on the first floor during prayer or at least in the front, and women are behind the men on the first floor or on the second level by themselves. The reason for this is because they don’t want women to be uncomfortable by bowing down/over in front of men.
As I brought up in class, one thing I found interesting from the opening chapters of The Cairo House is Eid al-Adha, or “the Feast of Sacrifice”, one of the two major holidays celebrated within Islam. It typically lasts three to four days, and participants attend special prayers at different major mosques and Islamic centers. A sacrifice of a lamb, sheep, goat, etc. is common because it honors how Ibrahim was willing to sacrifice his son. In the Quran, God commands that Ibrahim sacrifice his son, Ismael. However, before Ibrahim is able to commit the act, God gives him a lamb to sacrifice instead. I enjoy holidays, but it is interesting to see how other cultures or religions celebrate different holidays, or even the same holiday. Because it is part of one’s culture, it is not uncommon to see people celebrating religious holidays, even if they don’t practice any faith or religion. I also liked where the text talked about being a chameleon and the reference Dr. McGrath made in class. We tend to change who we are (or at least how we act) based on where we are and who we surround ourselves with. I am from a small, rural city in northern Indiana, so I would say I act different around my friends back home than I do with my friends here in the city.