*Bismiallah*
When you enter a seemingly innocent looking masjid, you suddenly see huddled in seperate groups; Eygptians with the Eygyptians, Morrocans with the Morrocans, African Americans with the African Americans, and Caucasians with the Caucasians. What the heck is wrong with this picture?
In Islam there is supposed to be no such thing as "race". We're all brothers and sisters no matter what color/culture...right? Sadly, this isn't reality, and this isn't the case at my masjid. I go to my masjid every week for my Qu'ran/Arabic classes. I also go to the many events they have, including the Family Day event. When my family first went to the Family Day gathering, it was so cliquish that me, my mom, and sister were literally sitting in a corner by ourselves. Untill I saw a group of four teenaged girls sitting across the room and I went to go talk to them, we were basically not warmly welcomed. It took all my courage because I am very shy to go over and talk to them. Alhamdulilah they were around my age and welcomed me. This was about three or four months ago, and one of those girls is my best friend...and so is her biological sister! The other two girls took a little longer to get used to us because they are so shy. We got to really know them when they went over my best friends house to eat dinner. Pretty cool huh?
At my masjid, newcomers in the Sisters rooms are generally ignored unless they jump up to introduce themselves. Cliches are also formed, but they aren't that bad. Muslims should be open to everyone. This isn't a Highschool, it's a Masjid! We don't group ourselves! We should welcome everyone no matter what their cultures/skin color may be. No matter what language they may speak! Seriously, how do you learn about other people if you stay in your own little bubble? Islam is supposed to destroy classification. We can't classify ourselves, we are all HUMAN. Didn't the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) say in his last sermon that no black is better than a white, and no white is better than a black? Islam doesn't tolerate groupies, let alone racism! We are brother and sisters, not aliens. We can identify to something a non-muslim can't.
Besides not having cliches, we are supposed to greet those we know, and those we don't know. It's the Sunnah. Now when I go to my masjid and I see people sitting all alone while watching my friends and I laugh like a couple of lunatics, I get up and invite them over. Not only that, but I have encouraged my friends and younger sister to do this. Alhamdulilah. May Allah bless & guide us all. ~ Nisa
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3 comments:
Asalaamu `alaikum wa rahmatullah!!
Did I already say how much I love your Blog layout?? BTW I am also Native!!
About the cliches @ the masjid... Yes, I am all too aware of these circles... Being warm & welcome is the number one thing to do, not huddle in a group and exclude other ppl...
Wa alaykum wa salaam Aalia. Thank you! :D Yeah, I forgot about you being Native. Hehe. Except your Canadian, I'm American. Still the same thing though. :P Thank you for commenting! May Allah bless & reward you! - Nisa
Salam Alaikum
I know exactly what you mean and when I first converted to Islam 5 years ago, going to the masjid was such a stressful experience. Whenever I see a new sister I go out of my way to be friendly so she'll never have to feel the way I did back then, inshallah.
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