The Islamic Faith! (Day 11)

I just want to start by stating that I am an Atheist, I don't believe in a God at all.
I ended up going to the Islamic Information Center, http://www.islamicinfocenter.org/  I met a man by the name of Ahmed, I told him why I was there, that I'm doing this 30 day thing.  I told him what my personal belief is, and that I am just going in with an open mind.

I started off by asking him what is the Islamic religion about, what makes it different than the other.  What he told me was this, that the Islamic religion is no different than Christianity and Judaism.  They are all about peace, and even pray to the same God.  They even make reference to Jesus and Moses, how Moses freed the slaves from Egypt.  Where it differs is what Jesus is, they believe he is just a man, not the son of God.  He told me that Muslims will pray 5 times a day, sometimes more, and that prayer takes 5-10min.

I asked him about Mecca, the giant stone, etc.  What he told me was that it is just a symbol, that the whole idea is that they are all facing a point, united together.  It was beautiful to hear, that  a group of people can come together for this.

We went on to discuss a few more controversial things, I asked him what his opinions are on how his religion is portrayed in the media.  How it makes him feel to see people wanting to get rid of mosques in their area.  What he told me kind of took me by surprise.  He said that it was their own fault, that they just let the louder voices speak, and the moderate ones didn't answer back.  He told me that Muslims are going through an crisis, and that they feel vulnerable, because they are also under attack.

A few of the people i work with wanted me to ask a question, what is the head scarf about?  How come women have to cover up.  What he told me was that women have the exact same rights as men, if a man and woman do a good deed, they get the same reward. If they both do something wrong, they both will receive the same punishment.  The headscarf is part of the religion, it is a way to show modesty.  Men have to respect women. As for the level that they cover up, that is based on tribal laws. Mostly around Afghanistan/Pakistan.  It isn't something that is normally practiced.

We actually discussed extremists, and what we can do to get away from that. It really sucks, because I'm sure Bin Laden wants nothing but the best for his family.  Just like anybody else.  I'm also sure that the common Muslim man can totally relate with an average American man.

It was a really good talk, he told me how he was searching for something. That he started off in a non-practicing Muslim family, he didn't know how to pray or anything.  After researching and looking at different religions, he settled back on Islam. He didn't mind my questions, and was very patient with me.  I thanked him for speaking with me, and wished him the best!