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Category Archives: Islam

Ramadan

29 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by jrwmacdonald in Islam, UAE

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This will be our second Ramadan in the UAE. I quite enjoyed the relaxed pace of things last Ramadan and look forward to a general slow down in this holy month. On a practical level, for us, it means that my work day is reduced to 6 hours (without a lunch break).  Generally this means I’ll be in the office from 7am to 1pm.  Today, however, I am on the reference desk until 4pm so I won’t go in until 10am. I’m using some of that extra time to write this post. Ramadan also means changes in traffic.  The roads will generally be better except for right before Iftar when everyone is racing to get to the place they need to be to break their fast and late at night when folks are heading home after long meals and social events.

The word Ramadan, I understand, means “great heat.” I suppose that can have a symbolic as well as a practical meaning. Muslims fast from sun up to sun down over the entire month (I do not recommend that the Inuit convert anytime soon).  The devout find themselves in a period of deep reflection and prayer as well as study of their sacred text. It is believed that the Quran was revealed in the closing days of Ramadan.

The moon has been sighted and Ramadan begins in the UAE today. While the lunar calendar could be calculated mathematically they still declare the start of Ramadan based on actual sighting of the moon. I kind of like that. It inspires a sense of watchfulness and readiness for things to come.

I’ve been thinking for weeks about how I could participate more fully in Ramadan. I’ve mentioned to a few muslim friends that I was considering fasting.  They did not seem offended in any way that I would join in on the holy month. Islam is not my religion or my culture but I do have deep respect for the good it can do in the lives of the people who live it. I am fasting today – this first day of Ramadan – I won’t commit to any fasting beyond that. I will, however, spend more time with my sacred books and in prayer this month. It should be an interesting cultural experience.

Fasting is also a part of my religious heritage. We fast the first sabbath of every month. In most of the world that means from after the evening meal on Saturday to the evening meal on Sunday. The money we save during that voluntary fast is then given as an offering and used to relieve the suffering of the poor and otherwise afflicted. I am terrible at fasting.  When I remember to do it inevitably my Saturday evening meal ends somewhere around 9pm and the Sunday evening meal begins around 3pm. Fasting during Ramadan I suspect may take on a similar shape for me.

My real plan is to post daily during Ramadan much like I did over Christmas. I am looking forward to a month of reflection.

Ramadan Kareem

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

18 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by lcmacdonald in Abu Dahbi, American University of Sharjah, Islam, UAE

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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Earlier in the week I signed myself and the kids up to participate in a trip to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for February 16th.  We were sent an itinerary, dress code and instructed to be promptly at the meeting place between 8:30 am and 9:00 am to be on the bus.  9:00 am came and went.  At 9:30 I decided I would wait 10 more minutes and then make other plans for the day.  Just as the time was running down the bus rounded the corner.  I was perturbed at having to sit in the sun waiting when I was told to be early but relieved that I would still be going to see the mosque as planned.

Half an hour into the journey the choruses of “Are we there yet?” began, surely signalling the beginning of a very long day.  As the mosque came into view I thought the kids would be just as amazed as I was.  Kirsten instantly went into teenager meltdown mode and refused to have her picture taken, talk to me, smile, or even sit up while we waited for our group.  A concerned security guard even approached her to be sure she wasn’t sleeping on the doorstep to the mosque.  With our group arriving late for our scheduled tour appointment we only had time for the brief “Reader’s Digest” version of  the tour before afternoon prayers would begin.  As we walked around the mosque the kids spread out, clinging to their friends right until the moment when our tour guide would begin to divulge some interesting facts about the mosque.  Every moment our guide began to open his mouth Jaron was standing on my toes, pawing at me, “Mom, Mom, Mom…when are we leaving?”  There are a lot of pillars, the mosque theme is a garden, and the main prayer room used to contain the largest chandelier in the world now it’s just the largest in that mosque.  These were the only tidbits of info I managed to hear.  To find out more interesting facts about the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque click here or here.

A late start to the day meant late everything to follow.  Instead of heading back to the University at 2:00, we arrived at the Abu Dhabi Marina Mall.  The mall is located out on a little (I’m assuming) man made peninsula just past the Emirates Palace Hotel and before you get to the Heritage Village.  Inside there are some fantastic fountains, and a 360 degree viewing platform only 84 meters shy of the Space Needle in Seattle.  We didn’t have much time to explore this mall, only to have some lunch and a little treat before finding the bus.  We aimed for a 3:30 pm departure with a very ambitious 5:00 pm arrival back at AUS that slowly became a 6:30 pm arrival.  When we pulled into AUS Lilli leaned over and said, “I don’t want to get off the bus.”  Ha! Kids.

Looking into the courtyard
Looking into the courtyard
Mosque reflection
Mosque reflection
echoing archways
echoing archways
Glass wall flower decorations.
Glass wall flower decorations.
Closed for prayer time.
Closed for prayer time.
Marina Mall viewing tower. Platform is at 100 meters (84 less than Seattle Space Needle).
Marina Mall viewing tower. Platform is at 100 meters (84 less than Seattle Space Needle).
Chandelier in main prayer hall entrance
Chandelier in main prayer hall entrance
Main prayer hall. One piece of carpet (brought in 9 pieces and took 4 months to complete within the mosque).
Main prayer hall. One piece of carpet (brought in 9 pieces and took 4 months to complete within the mosque).
Closed for prayer time.
Closed for prayer time.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
courtyard mosaic
courtyard mosaic
Looking into the courtyard
Looking into the courtyard
Time to go.
Time to go.
Entrance to main prayer hall
Entrance to main prayer hall
Main prayer hall. One piece of carpet (brought in 9 pieces and took 4 months to complete within the mosque).
Main prayer hall. One piece of carpet (brought in 9 pieces and took 4 months to complete within the mosque).
Entrance to main prayer hall
Entrance to main prayer hall
Walking across the courtyard.
Walking across the courtyard.
Marina Mall viewing tower. Platform is at 100 meters (84 less than Seattle Space Needle).
Marina Mall viewing tower. Platform is at 100 meters (84 less than Seattle Space Needle).
courtyard mosaic
courtyard mosaic
Marina Mall
Marina Mall
Frozen Yogurt Factory treat at Marina Mall.
Frozen Yogurt Factory treat at Marina Mall.
Marina Mall
Marina Mall
Colorful fountain at Marina Mall
Colorful fountain at Marina Mall
Marina mall decor
Marina mall decor

A Call to Prayer

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by lcmacdonald in Islam, Sharjah, UAE

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Islam

One thing I have found surprisingly beautiful is the Call to Prayer.  Mosques dot the landscape the same way LDS stake centres do in Utah.  In each Emirate the timing of the prayer is a little bit different.

Within the Emirate it is an amazing, surreal chorus that rings out across the land.  Anna Zacharias of The National wrote, “The call to prayer, or adhan, is beamed live across the emirate five times a day via satellite from the Sheikh Zayed Mosque on the al Qawassim Corniche in RAK city. The four callers span the Islamic world, hailing from Morocco, Egypt, the UAE and Bangladesh. Though a single voice at a time delivers adhan to mosques at the click of a button, the call in each mosque absorbs the character of its setting.”

AUS Mosque

The following is the Arabic transliteration and the English translation of what you hear:

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
(said four times)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
(said two times)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah
Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah
Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
(said two times)

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
[said two times]

La ilaha illa Allah
There is no god except the One God

For the pre-dawn (fajr) prayer, the following phrase is inserted after the fifth part above, towards the end:

As-salatu Khayrun Minan-nawm
Prayer is better than sleep
(said two times)

There is a mosque in downtown Sharjah, Al Noor Mosque, that allows non-Muslim visitors and residents to take a tour, and photos of the interior of the Mosque and learn more about the religion.  I intend to look into it, so stay tuned for a post on this topic.

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