On Wednesday, March 15, 2006, I visited the Islamic Society of San Francisco (ISSF). The visit was coordinated through Sevim Kalyoncu, ISSF’s community liaison, and lasted approximately one hour. From that time, I took away a greater appreciation for both Islam and the fact that we are all more similar that we know.
Choice of Venue
Prior to taking this course, I knew very little about Islam. What little I knew came from the media and depictions of terrorists after the September 11th attacks. My father had also told me a little bit about the religious violence in India between Muslims and Hindus in the late 1940s when the British gave India its freedom and created the Republic of Pakistan. That violence deeply affected my father’s childhood – making it impossible for him to see his father for extended periods of time and making it very difficult for my grandfather to send money home to my father and the rest of the family. Given these tidbits of information, my impressions of Islam were neutral to negative – but they weren’t based on any true understanding of the religion, just the actions of those who claim to adhere to it. With the growing tensions in the Middle East and the rapid growth of Islam throughout the world, I felt it was important to gain first-hand knowledge of this wisdom tradition. Also, unlike Judaism, Christianity, or Hinduism, I didn’t think I would take the opportunity later in life to learn more about Islam. So, in some sense, this was my only chance to really explore this faith.
In terms of my choice of Muslim mosque, I performed a Google search for mosques in the Bay Area. A couple of options came back. The thing that attracted me to ISSF was their community page. In addition to open houses and presentations on Islam, ISSF also offers mosque tours. Specifically, ISSF is “always pleased to open the doors of our mosque Masjid Darassalam to anyone who is interested. We've hosted individuals, students, and groups from churches and labor organizations. Typically, we’ll open with a brief presentation about Islam followed by Q&A, observation of the prayer (and Sermon if it's on a Friday) and close with a tour of the facilities.” During my visit, I discovered that middle school classes, for example, have visited this mosque for the Friday sermon.
Regarding my choice of service, I decided to observe the noon (12:20pm) prayer on Wednesday rather than the Friday sermon because it would give me more time to interact with members of the mosque. As Sevim put it in our initial email communication, “the daily prayers are relatively brief, with only a small group of people participating, but they would allow us ample time to talk in addition to observing the prayer. On Fridays the mosque is much more crowded, with people attending the one prayer (and service) for which they are required to come to the mosque. It may be harder to talk at that time, but you will have the opportunity to listen to the weekly sermon.” Growing up, I knew plenty of Jews and Christians. But I never knew any Muslims. So I picked the service that would enable me to actually meet someone from this faith and get to know them a little on a personal level. It’s obviously only a single data point but that’s a good start when you don’t have any.
As I mentioned, everything I know about Islam I learned in this course. From the readings and lectures, I knew about the Five Pillars of Islam: the confession of faith, prayer five times a day, giving of alms to the poor, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca. I also knew that:
Islam is a monotheistic faith that believes surrendering to the will of God is the greatest human task. “The very heart of Islam is submission to the total will of Allah, or God. (Allah is not the name of a god, but simply means “The God” – the one and only God.) God’s will for humanity, Muslims believe, was most fully given in the Qur’an, the book revealed through the prophet Muhammad. The word Islam means “submission,” and the name tells us that the central idea of this faith is simply full and complete submission to the will of God. An adherent of the faith is called a Muslim, one who has made the submission”
Regarding the mosque and prayer, the lecture taught me that:
The Mosque, the Muslim place of prayer and worship, has a distinct Arab feel to it. Most of us would recognize a Mosque because it has such distinct characteristics. “Few would mistake a mosque for a church, synagogue, or Hindu temple. The mosque, a place of prayer to the infinite Lord, has no picture, image, altar, flowers, or candles – only a vast, clean, cool, austerely beautiful empty space”. The floor surface will often be covered in Persian rugs. There are no pews. Muslims do not believe that one should make images of Allah and so there are no pictures …
Prayers begin with a ritual washing. All mosques contain fountains and running water for this purpose. “Before prayers, one must be in a state of purification. This is attained by formal washing.” But this washing is again a symbol of the deeper purification that is sought. A Muslim tries to let go of the stresses and worries of the moment, clear his or her head, and focus on Allah. This is the real purification and spiritual discipline required by regular prayer. “Several further conditions should be met, if possible, out of respect for this sacred action. One should pray in a clean place free of defilement. For this reason, many Muslims use special small carpets, prayer rugs, which they spread over the place of prayer. One must be modestly dressed. Before beginning, one must articulate in one’s mind the intention to say the right prayers. Finally, one must pray facing in the direction of Mecca” …
“The prayers may be said individually wherever one is, but Muslims have always preferred to say them congregationally whenever possible.” … It should be noted that prayers in Islam are quite physical as people move, bow, and place their foreheads on the ground in front of them in a number of stylized movements. People familiar with a Roman Catholic service where there is sitting, standing, and kneeling will be more comfortable with this style of prayer.
Smith, in The World's Religions, supplemented this understanding of the prayer by saying:
Washing, to purify the body and symbolically the soul, precedes the prayer, which begins in dignified, upright posture but climaxes when the supplicant has sunk to his or her knees with forehead touching the floor. This is the prayer’s holiest moment, for it carries a twofold symbolism. On the one hand, the body is in a fetal position, ready to be reborn. At the same time, it is crouched in the smallest possible space, signifying human nothingness in the face of the divine.
As for prayer’s content, its standard themes are praise, gratitude, and supplication. There is a Muslim saying that every time a bird drinks a drop of water it lifts its eyes in gratitude toward heaven. At least five times each day, Muslims do likewise.
Regarding the location itself, ISSF is located at 20 Jones Street in San Francisco. This is part of the Tenderloin district and Sevim warned me that there would be a number of homeless people hanging out outside the mosque.
The Visit Itself
I arrived at ISSF just before noon. I knew that ISSF was located in the middle of the Tenderloin but, for some reason, I wasn’t expecting such an urban exterior to the mosque. The building seemed more like a warehouse or set of commercial offices than a mosque. I later learned from Sevim that the space was donated to ISSF and they are working within the constraints of what has been generously given to them.
The other thing that I wasn’t expecting was the palpable contrast between a place of worship and its immediate surroundings. While putting money into the parking meter across the street from ISSF, I was hounded by a street peddler to purchase an adult DVD for $10. Also, while it’s hard to see in the photo above, the Market Street Cinema (along with other adult venues) are located less than half a block down the street from ISSF.
Once I entered the building, I went up two flights of stairs to the third floor. The first floor is simply a lobby (with only a bulletin board) and the second floor will be a community center and conference area (but it is still under construction). The third floor contained the mosque itself. When I first arrived, there were only two other people there. Both of them greeted me by saying “Assalamu Alilkum”. Unfortunately, I did not know how to respond and this made me self-conscious – less out of lack of knowledge and more for fear of not showing the proper respect and courtesy in their house of worship. Complicating matters was the fact that one of the two men did not speak English so I could not inquire as to the proper response. The second man immediately went into his prayers.
I met up with Sevim fairly soon after. The mosque was essentially one huge room but Sevim gave me the “tour” nonetheless. She explained that people typically wash their hands and feet before the prayer. It was not required but I decided to go into the bathroom area to wash like the other men. There were a row of faucets about waist-high and a series of marble cubes that people could sit on to wash. Outside the bathrooms, there was a large set of shelves upon which people could place their socks and shoes. The shelves also contained flip-flops and sandals that could be used while in the bathroom area.
After washing, Sevim and I took a seat in the women’s portion of the worship area (the back). The worship area was very plain, just a large empty room that could hold about 200-400 people in my estimation. The walls were plain white and there were no Persian rugs on the ground, just red and green carpet. Sevim said that as ISSF raises money for renovations, they may make slight improvements to the space. Since it was a Wednesday, only about 30-40 people arrived for the noon prayer – all of whom were men (including one young boy). Sevim said that the Friday prayer and sermon are much more crowded and also attract a number of women. The mosque itself is neither Sunni nor Shi’a per say, but the prayer times and style are Sunni. The mosque attracts local residents and also Muslims who work in San Francisco. Many of the local residents are Sudanese or Middle Eastern. Many are recent immigrants to the United States with English as a second language. At the particular prayer I attended, there was a reasonable cross-section of ages, although there were more people over 40 than under. It also seemed like a diverse set of economic classes were represented, from men in suits to men in jeans.
There was something incredibly familiar and comfortable about Sevim. I wasn’t expecting her to be white. Sevim also bore a physical resemblance to my sister-in-law SG (in SLC) and she grew up in the same general area as I did outside of Washington DC. All of this made me think two things. First, regardless of our religious differences, we are all more similar than we think. In fact, we could be part of a single extended family. Second, sensing my reservations about Islam, God (Allah) sent me a messenger who would be easy for me to receive. I am not sure whether God was encouraging me to become Muslim or simply to be accepting of others’ faith, but I feel that God played an active role in my visit to the mosque – and this I honestly did not expect. In fact, it made me feel a little uncomfortable, as if the bar had been raised on my visit beyond simply a classroom assignment.
In terms of the prayer itself, it went mostly as I expected (based on the lecture and reading). The Imam called the faithful to prayer at 12:20pm. The men present formed two lines at the front of the worship area shoulder-to-shoulder. There was a little time for personal prayer before the Imam led the group through certain verses from the Qur’an. As described in the lecture, there were a number of stylized movements including bowing and placing the forehead on the ground. Sevim mentioned to me that when she was a child she did not understand the importance of these movements. It was only once she began taking yoga classes that she truly came to accept them. Just as there is a mind-body connection in yoga, Muslims submit to Allah with both their minds and bodies during prayer.
As I observed the prayer, I was struck by two things: the rhythmic (almost musical) nature of Arabic and the communal feel of the worship. Regarding Arabic, Sevim said that she has known people who have been brought to tears by the beauty of the language, especially as verses from the Qur’an are recited. Regarding the communal feel, it made me appreciate the importance of sharing one’s faith with others. If I were Muslim, I would likely feel awkward or self-conscious performing the required movements if I were doing them on my own. But, in a group setting, I would feel awkward if I weren’t doing them with everyone else. The community gives you comfort to do something that might otherwise be uncomfortable. The other thing I took away from the prayer is elaborate services are not required to show our faith in God. The prayer itself lasted only about fifteen minutes. Furthermore, the surroundings and proceedings were incredibly modest. All we need to do is open our hearts to God’s presence.
1 comment:
My brother said that this PBS DVD is quite good if you're interested in learning more about Islam.
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