Islam is the world’s second largest religion. When you have a
billion and a half people belonging to a religion, you are bound to
find a few kooks and extremists among their number
“Islam is the world’s second largest religion. When you have a billion and a half people belonging to a religion, you are bound to find a few kooks and extremists among their number,” Shista Azad said in answer to our questions about how she reconciles her Muslim beliefs with the actions of terrorists such as Osama bin Laden. Teachers Shista Azad and Maha Elgensidi, Muslim women from the Islamic Networks Group, (which works to educate people about Islamic beliefs), have been in demand since Sept. 11. In the past year alone, they have participated in 726 presentations to history and social studies classes, police officers, corporations with cultural competency programs and other events.
Shista turned our question around on us, “How do you reconcile Hitler with Christian belief? He professed to be a Christian, and yet look what he did. There are extremists in every religion, and they give a bad name to the millions who are trying to practice their own beliefs in peace.”
Gilroy Methodist women were enjoying a class called, “Creating Interfaith Communities,” in a continuing effort to learn more about the Muslim religion. Women from 41 Santa Clara County area churches have participated in prayer vigils and presentations given by Muslim women. We found it a fascinating experience to sit in a room close to a Muslim woman in her hijab (traditional scarf and loose-fitting modest dress) and be able to ask her every question we had ever wanted to ask a Muslim.
We found out that the way a Muslim woman dresses is not merely for the sake of modesty, but also for the effect it has on those around her. Shista explained: “It forces people to judge her more by character and intelligence, rather than just the shape of her body. When someone swears and I’m in the room in my hijab, they always apologize,” Shista smiled. “I like that.”
One surprising moment came when Maha admitted how hard it is to shop for bras. “It’s becoming impossible,” she confessed, “They all push you up here or shape you there, or have padding or parts that accentuate your figure. How can a Muslim woman find anything modest to wear?” she said, and all the women in the room laughed with her.
We learned that “Islam” comes from a root word “silm,” which means “peace.” Islam is based on the idea of seeking peace within self first, then with family, then with community, and then the ultimate goal of peace with the world. The Holy Jihad is the internal battle to submit ourselves to the will of God, the struggle with yourself about doing the right thing. Maha told us, “My own personal jihad (struggle) is to be able to pray five times a day, to fast, and to resist lashing out at those who treat me with hostility.” She regularly receives death threats.
“The harm that Osama bin Laden has done to other Muslims and to his own people is greater than any harm that will ever be done by Muslim extremists to anyone else. Muslim extremists have hijacked the Muslim religion for their own agendas and it causes me pain and will continue to cause me the deepest pain for the rest of my life,” she said.
At the end of the session she laid out her beautiful prayer rug and bowed to physically demonstrate to us how she prays for peace each day as she explained what each body movement symbolizes. These days she has to be creative in finding places to pray: she can no longer pray in public since Sept. 11 because someone always calls the police to report “suspicious activity.”
When we asked about the rights of women and their own paychecks, she told us that any money a woman makes is hers to do with as she wishes, while any money a husband makes is half his and half hers. When I told my husband, he sighed and said, “Isn’t that just the same way it is for us too?”
We have more in common with our Muslim brothers and sisters than we realize. The most significant thing we brought with us back to Gilroy was the understanding that both Muslims and Christians have in common a desire and a belief in praying and working for peace on earth. “As-Salaam Alay-Kum” (Peace be upon you) is the way a Muslim would greet you or me. The reply would be, “Wa Alay-Kum as-Salaam” (And may peace be upon you, too). To learn more, visit http://www.ing.org
