Importance Of Being A Muslim

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The word “Muslim” means, one who submits to the will of God. For my report I chose to observe a mosque. This Islamic religion formed in seventh century C.E in the Arabian Peninsula. The most essential belief to Muslim’s is that Allah is the one true God with no partner equal.
Being a Muslim, one is expected to show active obedience to Allah by praying throughout the day. Muslims take part in five formal prayers each day. The timings of these prayers are spaced fairly evenly throughout the day so that followers are constantly reminded of God. Each prayer time is given a name (Katiya). The first prayer is called “Fajr.” This prayer is at pre-dawn and starts off the day with a reminder that Allah is watching. The second prayer time is called “Dhuhr.” Dhuhr is around noon which is usually after a day’s work has begun. This prayer time is short and just serves as a remembrance of God. The next prayer, “Asr” is in the afternoon. Again, it’s just a short prayer to remember Allah. The next prayer time is at sunset and is called “Maghrib.” The fifth and final prayer time is called “Isha.” At the last prayer time, Muslims have an intense prayer before bed and remember Gods presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness (Katiya). In Islamic communities, they are called to these prayer times daily.
Myself coming from a Catholic family, this was all new to me. By learning about the background of the Islamic people and religion, it made me see how close Muslims are to one another. Being a Catholic, one is supposed to attend church once a week to pray and worship. Most people that call themselves Catholic don’t even make the effort to do that little. Being Muslim is more than religion; it’s a community. It’s a very intense religion and not as la...

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...ividuality, or even choose who I want to be friends with. Maybe I’m blowing this all out of proportion but if I was to convert, I would no longer feel like an American. Even though converting to Islam would be very costly in my eyes, there are a few rewards. If I became a Muslim at least I would be very close to God. Some people need a very strong relationship with their God in order to feel whole, but I am not one of those people. If I became a Muslim that would all change. Getting close to God might be a good thing for me. Furthermore, converting to Islam would probably make me respect myself more. I would become more conservative and focus on bigger issues in life rather than focusing on boys and partying. To convert to Islam or any religion for that matter, would be extremely difficult. Some may have the strength and discipline to do it but I certainly do not.

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