I found the reading on the Five Pillars of Islam to be really interesting. It incorporated a lot of things I kind of already knew about Islam, but elaborated more on details and terms I had never heard of before. I had heard of halal before, but didn’t fully understand what it meant. Now, I find the term to be really fascinating as it refers to what kinds of meat are allowed due to the way the animal is handled before it is killed. I think that shows a side of Islam that many people don’t know. Same with the fourth pillar which I had never heard of before which encourages hard work and giving back to those who need it. Another thing I thought was cool to learn was about how the lunar cycles determine the Muslim calendar, and so it is about 10-11 days off from the Western calendar.
After the reading, I found that Islam values a lot of things like hard work, generosity, and sympathy. Sympathy is one I especially think is at the center of a lot of the pillars because by fasting, it can help Muslims without need sympathize with those who are often hungry. The fourth pillar, the charity tax, is sympathetic to the poor and helps those who need it. The halal way of killing animals is sympathetic to their pain and tries to minimize it as much as possible. These are just three examples of how sympathy is rooted in Islam.
As for the Hajj video with Michael Wolfe, I thought it was cool seeing first-hand the Kaaba and the seven trips around it. I also thought the episode itself was really interesting because it seemed old, but like a way to humanize Muslims for Americans who likely have negative perceptions of the Islamic faith. There were a lot of statistics and things about where Muslims are and how many there are across the world.