tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/california-lutheran-university-3518/articlesCalifornia Lutheran University2020-03-16T12:18:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1332212020-03-16T12:18:14Z2020-03-16T12:18:14ZWhat Islamic hygienic practices can teach when coronavirus is spreading<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320483/original/file-20200313-115127-1aiuq2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Muslim man prepares for prayer by doing a ritual washing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/muslim-man-taking-ablution-for-prayer-royalty-free-image/1165714884?adppopup=true">mustafagull/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As outbreaks of the coronavirus spread throughout the world, people are reminded over and again to limit physical contact, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-hand-washing-really-is-as-important-as-doctors-say-132840">wash hands</a> and avoid touching their face. The recent Netflix docuseries “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/Title/81026143">Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak</a>” illustrates how the Islamic ritual washing, known as “wudu,” may help spread a good hygiene message.</p>
<p>The series focuses on Syra Madad, a Muslim public health specialist in a New York hospital, who takes a break to say her prayers at the Islamic Center of New York University. Before entering the prayer room, Madad stops to perform wudu, and washes her mouth and face as well as her feet. </p>
<p>Islamic law requires Muslims to ritually purify their body before praying. As a scholar of Islamic studies who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FvTDlCsAAAAJ&hl=en">researches</a> ritual practices among Muslims, I have found that these practices contain both spiritual and physical benefits. </p>
<h2>Ritual purity</h2>
<p>The Prophet Muhammad left detailed guidance for Muslims on how to live their lives, including how to pray, fast and stay ritually pure. This guidance is available in collections called the Hadith. </p>
<p>According to Islamic law, there are minor and major impurities. Minor impurities involve urinating, defecating and sleeping, among other practices. A person of Muslim faith is supposed to perform a <a href="http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2520">ritual washing</a> of their bodies before praying to get rid of these minor impurities. </p>
<p>Wudu is to be performed, as was done by the Prophet Muhammad, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=8x-OHSYzPr8&feature=emb_title">a specific order</a> before praying, which takes place five times a day. Before each prayer, Muslims are expected to wash themselves in a certain order – first hands, then mouth, nose, face, hair and ears, and finally their ankles and feet. </p>
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<p>While washing with water is required when it is available, if a person has limited access to water, then a Muslim is permitted to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh0gxMmyPSk">symbolically “cleanse” their hands and face</a> with dust or sometimes sand or other natural materials. </p>
<p>A Quranic verse <a href="http://al-quran.info/#5:6">says</a>: “And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, God is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.” </p>
<p>A hadith from the prophet also <a href="https://ahadith.co.uk/permalink-hadith-1552">describes the Earth</a> as a purifying agent if there is a scarcity of water for washing. </p>
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<p>Major impurity is defined in Islamic texts as occurring after sexual activity or when a woman completes her menstrual cycle. A Muslim woman should not pray during her menstrual cycle. To purify oneself after such an impurity, a Muslim is required to take a shower, called “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEgUbg9YuCA">ghusl</a>.” A person needs to wash their entire body, from head to toe, including their hair. </p>
<h2>Spiritual actions</h2>
<p>Preparing for prayer by washing one’s body using water can be a deeply spiritual act for Muslims. Islamic studies scholar <a href="https://college.lclark.edu/live/profiles/99-paul-powers">Paul Powers</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jaar/jaar/article-abstract/72/2/425/688516">argues</a> it isn’t “empty ritualism,” but an embodied practice that helps the individual center on an inner religiosity. </p>
<p>Similarly, another Islamic studies scholar, <a href="https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/faculty/marion-h-katz.html">Marion Katz</a>, explains in her 2002 book “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=60YGB0kF3-cC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q&f=false">Body of Text</a>” that the importance of wudu lies in its symbolic cleansing. It does not always cleanse the parts of the body that are “physically involved in the pollution act.” </p>
<p>Ritual purity is different from hygienic practices, although Islam also emphasizes good hygiene. Muslims take care to wash often, including using water <a href="https://www.salon.com/2012/07/10/secrets_of_the_muslim_bathroom/">after going to the bathroom</a>.</p>
<h2>Aligning with public health guidelines</h2>
<p>In view of the coronavirus risk, Muslim leaders <a href="https://sandala.org/congregations-and-covid-19/">around the world</a>, including <a href="https://shuracouncil.org/">in the U.S.</a>, have aligned their religious opinions with public health experts. </p>
<p>Muslim institutions have begun to <a href="https://www.adamscenter.org/coronavirus">recommend</a> that people make sure to wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap before doing wudu. Emphasizing that wudu alone cannot prevent the virus from spreading, other Islamic institutions <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/muslims-advised-stop-coronavirus-spread-200304160256140.html">recommend</a> that mosques supply extra soap and hand sanitizer near the washing area.</p>
<p>They have issued rulings to <a href="https://sandala.org/congregations-and-covid-19/">cancel Friday prayers</a>, urged Muslims to wash their hands with soap regularly, refrain from touching their face and practice social distancing. </p>
<p>While people have cleared local store shelves of hand sanitizers, wipes, cleaning supplies, gloves and masks, basic hygiene practices remain the best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and other viruses. </p>
<p>At this time, Islamic practices that emphasize purity of body could help reiterate the importance of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4099567/">hygienic practices</a> along with the use of soap or hand sanitizer, to reduce one’s vulnerability to the virus.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rose S. Aslan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Islamic law requires Muslims to ritually clean their body before praying. This guidance has particular relevance at a time when hand-washing is important to contain the spread of the coronavirus.Rose S. Aslan, Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1137022019-03-19T10:45:24Z2019-03-19T10:45:24ZWhat is the significance of Friday prayers in Islam?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264462/original/file-20190318-28475-nedo6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslims praying in a Chicago mosque following the shooting in New Zealand, on Friday, March 15.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Mosque-Shooting-Sanctuaries-No-More/25413c31406d425c80f8c74188be4ed9/1/0">AP Photo/Noreen Nasir</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Following the terror attack on two New Zealand mosques last week, many Muslim communities across the world <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/irl/mymosque-new-zealand/">gathered as usual for their most important weekly ritual</a> – Friday prayers. </p>
<p>In the past few years, Muslims have been attacked and killed while praying, many times on a Friday. Worshippers have been targeted in countries such as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30250950">Nigeria</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/07/04/pakistan.mosque.blast/">Pakistan</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/world/middleeast/mosque-attack-egypt.html">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/11/23/Bomb-attack-on-mosque-kills-26-Afghan-troops-during-Friday-prayer/1261542990965/">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/world/middleeast/suicide-bombing-saudi-arabia-shiites-sunnis-yemen-mosque.html">Saudi Arabia</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-10/two-killed-75-injured-by-twin-mosque-bombing-in-libyas/9418602">Libya</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28900340">Iraq</a> and <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/explosion-hits-kuwait-shia-mosque-during-friday-prayers/article7358023.ece">Kuwait</a>. </p>
<p>Muslims pray five times a day every day, but the most important prayer of the week is “jumah,” or the day of gathering, on Friday. </p>
<p>So why are Friday prayers so central to the Islamic faith?</p>
<h2>The religious significance</h2>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://www.callutheran.edu/faculty/profile.html?id=raslan">scholar of Islam</a> who researches and writes about Muslim ritual practices. The Qur’an invokes the importance of Friday as a sacred day of worship in a chapter called <a href="http://al-quran.info/#62">“Al-Jumah,”</a> meaning the day of congregation, which is also the word for Friday in Arabic.</p>
<p>It <a href="http://al-quran.info/#62">states</a>, “O you who believe! When you are called to congregational (Friday) prayer, hasten to the remembrance of God and leave off trade. That is better for you, if you but knew.” </p>
<p>Muslims believe Friday was chosen by God as a <a href="http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/08/22/the-rulings-related-to-friday-prayer/">dedicated day of worship</a>.
In addition to the prayer itself, which is shorter than the usual midday prayers, Friday services include a sermon, usually given by a professional male Muslim clergy member in Muslim majority countries, but in the West, they are also given by a male lay community member. </p>
<p><a href="http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/08/22/the-rulings-related-to-friday-prayer/">Muslim men are required</a> to attend Friday prayers as long as they not traveling, while women <a href="http://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-the-scholar/acts-of-worship/can-women-perform-friday-prayer/">are given the option</a> to attend, given their traditional role in the household when Islam was established. </p>
<p>In some countries, such as <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kerala-muslim-women-group-to-move-top-court-seeking-women-entry-in-all-mosques-1930611">India</a>, <a href="https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/32949/i-was-not-allowed-to-enter-memon-mosque-in-karachi-because-i-am-a-woman/">Pakistan</a> and <a href="https://iwpr.net/global-voices/tajik-women-fight-mosque-exclusion">Tajikistan</a>, women are not usually permitted to pray in mosques whereas in countries like Iran and Kenya, <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/22/gender-differences-in-worship-attendance-vary-across-religious-groups/">they attend in larger numbers</a>. In almost all mosques, men and women pray separately. In some places women are behind the men in the same room and in others, women are in a different room or behind a barrier. </p>
<p>In the West, many women choose to attend prayer if they can get time away from work or other duties. In Los Angeles and elsewhere in North America and Europe, women lead their <a href="http://rsn.aarweb.org/articles/friday-prayer-their-own">own Friday prayer services</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/08/22/the-rulings-related-to-friday-prayer/">To prepare for prayers</a>, Muslims bathe, apply perfume and brush their teeth to make their appearance pleasant to their fellow worshippers.</p>
<p>The Prophet Muhammad spoke of the value of praying in congregation rather than individually, <a href="http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/08/22/the-rulings-related-to-friday-prayer/">promising spiritual rewards</a>, such as answered prayers and forgiveness for one’s sins. Attending Friday prayers, the Prophet said, is <a href="http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/08/22/the-rulings-related-to-friday-prayer/">equivalent to one entire year</a> of praying and fasting alone.</p>
<p>A song by U.S. Muslim singer Raef Haggag describes how Muslims prepare and perform jumah prayers and their benefits. It provides a light but serious message about the significance of Friday prayers, especially for Western Muslims.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Song on Friday prayers.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The tradition of prayer</h2>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2013/jun/24/when-weekend-start-saudi-arabia">Muslim majority countries</a>, such as Egypt, Iran and Pakistan, include Friday as part of the weekend, with Saturday sometimes being a holiday, and Sunday being a regular workday. </p>
<p>On this day, many Muslims spend the day with their families, attend the prayer and also relax, although practices can vary. Commercial activities always continue after Friday prayers, but in Muslim-majority countries, most people get the day off. </p>
<p>Many people who do not have time to attend the mosque during the week will make a special effort to attend during Friday prayers. </p>
<p>In countries where the call to prayer is projected from loudspeakers, entire cities will be <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-richard-dawkins-doesnt-get-about-the-muslim-call-to-prayer-100576">saturated with their sounds</a>. Sermons too are often publicly broadcast, and in many cities, including in Western countries <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2011/04/07/on-a-mat-and-a-prayer">such as France</a>, congregants overflow into the streets around mosques. </p>
<p>Crowded cities are often empty and quiet, up until the prayers, after which they are full of people enjoying their day off. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Friday prayer practice in Cairo.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In the United States, Muslims have to receive <a href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e3a833eb-73d6-4dfe-ac7e-bd42284715f8">special accommodation</a> from their workplace to visit a nearby mosque. Some workplaces such as universities, hospitals or corporate offices, allow employees to <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=WjM5DwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA28&ots=34Bacmd7a9&dq=muslims%20organize%20jummah%20prayers%20at%20workplace&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false">organize their own Friday prayer</a> on site. </p>
<p>As a religious ritual that goes back to the practice of the Prophet, Friday prayers hold a special place for Muslims.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113702/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rose S. Aslan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Last Friday, Muslims were killed while praying at two mosques in New Zealand. For Muslims, Friday is the day of gathering, the most important prayer day of the week.Rose S. Aslan, Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1104062019-01-29T11:44:32Z2019-01-29T11:44:32ZWhat are Muslim prayer rugs?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255439/original/file-20190124-196228-1sikc3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslims can pray anywhere in the world using the prayer carpet.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Muslims-in-Hollywood/a7d6715d97494b5eb17fe03347a25bb9/212/0">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1086252588088082432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-1599397641671435474.ampproject.net%2F1901081935550%2Fframe.html">recent tweet</a>, President Trump stated that ranchers have been finding prayer rugs scattered along the U.S.-Mexico border. Late last year, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1054351078328885248">he tweeted</a> that “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners” were mixed in with the caravan heading to the U.S.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FvTDlCsAAAAJ&hl=en">My research</a> indicates that Islamophobia often targets visible signs of Muslimness, such as modest clothing like headscarves, as well as prayer rituals and mosques. This time it is the prayer rug.</p>
<p>These fearmongering tweets bear an uncanny resemblance to a 2018 action film, <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/sicario-day-of-the-soldado-movie-review-20180627.html">“Sicario: Day of the Soldado</a>.” Its trailer shows a scene of a Muslim man praying and a row of prayer rugs at the border. In the movie, U.S. officials who find the rugs use them as “evidence” that Muslims are entering the U.S. illegally in order to expand the jurisdiction of the war on terror.</p>
<p>Other than these recent mentions, carpets found fame through Disney’s “Aladdin,” where they were imagined to have the power to fly. However, prayer carpets actually have a much more mundane daily use among Muslims. </p>
<h2>Much more than a plain carpet</h2>
<p>Ritual purity is extremely important for Muslim prayers practices. As Islamic studies scholar <a href="https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/faculty/marion-h-katz.html">Marion Katz</a> explains, prayer carpets <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=allSNvtTpZwC&lpg=PR9&ots=GBfhgR7H4P&dq=islamic%20prayer%20carpet&lr&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q=%20carpet&f=false">provide a protective layer</a> between the worshiper and the ground, protecting the clothing from anything on ground that is polluting.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255632/original/file-20190125-108334-1ylx7pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A prayer niche in a mosque.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/royluck/31897950555">Roy Luck</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p><a href="http://muslimheritage.com/article/muslim-carpet">Muslim carpets</a> have been traditionally produced for centuries in Muslim majority regions, sometimes known as “the rug belt,” spanning from Morocco to Central Asia and northern India. There is a wide variety of designs and materials. Islamic art historian <a href="https://www.umass.edu/arthistory/member/walter-denny">Walter B. Denny</a>, in <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=D7vDBQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA5&ots=WFU05K0dne&dq=islamic%20prayer%20rug&lr&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q=islamic%20prayer%20rug&f=false">“How to Read Islamic Carpets,”</a> explains the different materials and symbolism in weaves used in these carpets. </p>
<p>For example, it is common to find symbols such as the prayer niche, a recess in the wall indicating the direction of Mecca; also a lamp, which is a reference to God; as well as flowers and trees that symbolize the abundance of nature in God’s paradise. </p>
<p>Prayer carpets that are used in homes are generally sized for one individual. Those used in mosques are much bigger, <a href="http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tr;Mus01;17;en">often with a motif showing a row of arches</a> to indicate where each worshiper should stand in prayer.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255438/original/file-20190124-196250-2tb7dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prayer carpets in mosques have a row of arches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Muslim-Day-Oklahoma/539b10997667400897d9e9f7aaf5c65c/139/0">AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki</a></span>
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<p>Islamic carpets have been popular for centuries in Europe and beyond, often picking up symbolism, social meaning and ways of being used. Islamic carpets <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isca/hd_isca.htm">were popular</a> among the wealthy of Europe, displayed proudly on the floor of their living rooms and on the walls. </p>
<p>Carpets designs have come down through generations. Some depict simple geometric patterns in rough wool, while other are <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452553">produced by professional artisans</a> for the elite and show hunting scenes and elaborate scenes of paradise. </p>
<h2>Different costs and forms of practice</h2>
<p>Practices vary according to personal and sectarian preference among Muslims. </p>
<p>For everyday use, Muslims purchase simple prayer carpets, mass-produced in Turkey, throughout the Middle East and even China. For use outside, they often carry a thinner travel rug. There are also high-priced versions. An antique carpet was auctioned for <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/most-expensive-carpets-at-auction-slideshow">US$4.3 million in 2009</a> and an <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/carpets-textiles-n09323/lot.51.html">Ottoman-era prayer rug</a> sold for $30,000 in 2015. </p>
<p>Not all sects of Muslims use the prayer carpet. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=YF4BAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PR1&pg=PR8#v=onepage&q&f=false">Shiite Muslims usually pray</a> on a clay disk called a “turba” in Arabic and “mohr” in Persian. This disk is often made from <a href="https://www.al-islam.org/articles/why-prostrate-karbalas-turba-yasin-t-al-jibouri">soil from Karbala</a>, the place of martyrdom of Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson in today’s Iraq, or another sacred site. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Shiite Muslims use a clay disk.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They often place the disk on top of a prayer carpet. When Shiites prostrate their foreheads on the floor during prayer, they want their forehead to be in contact with an organic material rather than the synthetic fibers of a carpet. So, depending on circumstance, they might also place any natural material such as a small straw mat where they pray.</p>
<p>It is highly unlikely for Muslims to leave behind their prayer rugs or to even carry one on a perilous journey through the harsh desert.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rose S. Aslan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trump recently tweeted about prayer rugs being left along the border. Many may not know the role and history of Muslim prayer rugs and why they are not likely to be left behind.Rose S. Aslan, Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1005762018-07-31T10:40:49Z2018-07-31T10:40:49ZWhat Richard Dawkins doesn’t get about the Muslim call to prayer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229850/original/file-20180730-106508-ckq4am.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslim women offer prayers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ghalog/6270665853/in/set-72157627673829509">Glenn Halog</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.richarddawkins.net/richarddawkins/">Richard Dawkins</a>, the evolutionary biologist, unapologetic atheist and author of “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=4do3DAAAQBAJ&dq=god+delusion+mifflin&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPyY302MfcAhVjm-AKHb2_BzsQ6AEIJzAA%22">God Delusion</a>,” recently <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1018933359978909696">tweeted</a> a picture of himself in front of the Winchester Cathedral in England, which said,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester, one of our great mediaeval [sic] cathedrals. So much nicer than the aggressive-sounding ‘Allahu Akhbar.’ Or is that just my cultural upbringing?”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1018933359978909696"}"></div></p>
<p>This lit a <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/richard-dawkins-bigotry-allahu-akhbar-tweet-prompts-debate-atheist-islam-1028487">twitterstorm</a> of <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-the-bigot-s-delusion-why-richard-dawkins-saying-church-bells-sound-nicer-than-allah-u-akbar-is-wrong-2638290">tens of thousands</a> of retweets and replies. Numerous <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/richard-dawkins-allahu-akhbar-church-bells-criticism-religion-a8451141.html">news outlets</a> around the world posted <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1344386">opinion pieces</a>, <a href="https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/richard-dawkins-religious-bigot">critiques</a> and analyses of his tweets. To correct, or perhaps clarify his initial tweet, Dawkins then <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1019566464569892866">retweeted</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The call to prayer can be hauntingly beautiful, especially if the muezzin has a musical voice. My point is that ‘Allahu Akhbar’ is anything but beautiful when it is heard just before a suicide bomb goes off. That is when Islam is tragically hijacked by violence.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1019566464569892866"}"></div></p>
<p>Both supporters and critics again filled his Twitter threads with heated comments. </p>
<p>This is not the first time the Muslim call to prayer has been misconstrued or that Muslims have been attacked for their prayer practices around the world. Muslims have been checked from praying in countries such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2015.1007665">Switzerland</a>, <a href="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/D/bo26260860.html">France</a>, <a href="http://www.atimes.com/article/tension-rising-in-delhi-over-muslims-praying-in-open-spaces/">India</a> and <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180711-israel-banned-call-to-prayer-298-times-at-key-mosque/">Israel</a>. </p>
<h2>Suspicions around Muslim prayers</h2>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Muslim call to prayer in Istanbul.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is a long history of opposition to public airings of the Muslim call to prayer. Starting in 2004, many of the longtime Polish Catholic residents of Hamtramck, Michigan, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/02/05/february-5-2016-muslims-of-hamtramck-michigan/28948/">expressed vehement opposition</a> to the call to prayer being aired publicly. This dispute <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-the-first-majority-muslim-us-city-residents-tense-about-its-future/2015/11/21/45d0ea96-8a24-11e5-be39-0034bb576eee_story.html?utm_term=.6ed3c56f84f3">continues until today</a>. </p>
<p>This is not the only one. In 2015, Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and well-known evangelical leader, <a href="https://twitter.com/Franklin_Graham/status/555439749721501697">tweeted his opposition</a> to <a href="https://naspa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1515/jcc-2013-0016#.W1oC0NhKg0o">Duke University’s plans</a> to allow prayers, which included “Muslim prayers,” as <a href="https://today.duke.edu/2015/01/adhanannouncement">part of its ongoing commitment</a> to creating a pluralistic campus. </p>
<p>In a 2016 incident, a <a href="https://mic.com/articles/142022/ucf-library-evacuated-after-muslim-girl-praying-gets-reported-as-gun-threat#.kDkEPUwaM">Muslim student</a> who was praying in the library of the University of Central Florida was singled out as a threat. </p>
<p>In my ongoing <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FvTDlCsAAAAJ&hl=en">research</a> that looks at Muslim experiences of ritual practices in the U.S., I’ve spoken to Muslims who are forced to hide their prayer practices from colleagues at work. Many of them delay their prayers when out in public because of fear of being attacked. </p>
<p>Part of the suspicion comes from the fact that the prayer words “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is the greatest,” is associated with suicide bombers and other extremists. Indeed, film studies scholar <a href="https://clas.uiowa.edu/cinematic-arts/people/corey-creekmur">Corey Creekmur</a> <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/reframing-911-9781441119056/">surveyed Hollywood’s “war on terror” films</a> and found that nearly all films invoking Islam or the Middle East include the call to prayer in the background. Creekmur argues that these films create an insidious connection between the call to prayer and political violence.</p>
<p>What many do not understand is the history and poetry in the Muslim way of praying.</p>
<h2>Beauty of the Muslim prayer</h2>
<p>It is believed that Prophet Muhammad received the words of the call from God through the archangel Gabriel. The Quran, which Muslims believe to be the direct words of God, commands Muslims to pray five times a day. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Islamic prayer.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many Muslims organize their days around the call to prayer and others stop what they are doing during the call and make supplications to God.</p>
<p>The Muslim call to prayer can be heard through loudspeakers mounted on minarets in the streets of Istanbul, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8cbN9SRo2Q">Jakarta</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEWfbgHg3Ew">Sarajevo</a> in melodic tones that beckon worshippers to the mosque.</p>
<p>The first Muslim to ever recite the call to prayer was Bilal Ibn Rabah, son of an enslaved Abyssinian woman, in the city of Medina in the seventh century. At the time, early Muslims were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_25461">debating the best way to audibly announce</a> the time for prayer so people would know when to gather at the mosque.</p>
<p>There is a science of reciting the prayers, called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/tajwid">tajwid</a> in Arabic. Ethnomusicologist <a href="http://www.aucpress.com/t-AuthorDetails.aspx?ID=314">Kristina Nelson</a> <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-art-of-reciting-the-quran-9789774245947?cc=us&lang=en&">explains</a> how professional reciters use melody to reflect the emotions and teachings of the sacred text. Tapping into the underlying message of the Quran, reciters <a href="https://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/perfection-makes-practice-learning-emotion-and-the-recited-quran-in-indonesia/">can evoke piety</a> and remembrance of God in their listeners.</p>
<p>For more than a millennium, Muslim poets have described their experience of the prayer. American Muslim poet <a href="http://ecstaticxchange.com/about/">Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore</a>, for example, <a href="http://ecstaticxchange.com/book/facing-mecca/">recalls his practice of prayer</a> as being able to experience God in an intimate way. Throughout his writings, 13th-century Persian Sufi poet <a href="http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/about_rumi.html">Rumi</a> fondly <a href="https://sufism.org/salaat/mevlana-on-prayer-2">describes</a> prayer as a direct door to God’s presence, offering spiritual delights. He says,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The delight I feel in the ritual prayer, The window of my soul opens, and from the purity of the Unseen World, the Book of God comes to me straight.” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Prayers for peace</h2>
<p>Across religions, prayer has been found to have a <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NiRZcCVbkZ4C&lpg=PP1&ots=DW0fduPRUu&dq=prayer%20calm%20religion&lr&pg=PR7#v=onepage&q=prayer%20calm%20religion&f=false">calming effect on practitioners</a>. Islamic prayer <a href="https://www.academia.edu/848052/Religion_and_mental_health_The_case_of_American_Muslims">is no different</a>. In my <a href="https://nyupress.org/books/9781479804887/">work</a>, American Muslims have explained that prayer takes away their worries and brings them peace. It also brings families and entire communities together, connecting them to the Islamic holy book, the Quran, and God. </p>
<p>So, the next time you hear a Muslim call to prayer, do remember, it is simply the Islamic way to remind us of the divine.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rose S. Aslan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Muslim call to prayer has often been misconstrued. A scholar explains how Islamic prayer is the heart of Islam that allows for an intimate connection between Muslims and their Creator.Rose S. Aslan, Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.