Friday, September 28, 2001

Back To Basics
Terrorist attacks leading Muslims to explain their faith
By Erin Munger
Staff reporter

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 captured the attention of nations around the world.

The attacks and President Bush’s declaration of war on terrorism also drew attention to the Muslim community in the United States.

Members of both the Christian and Jewish communities in Fort Worth have offered their support to the Islamic community, said Yushau Sodiq, a faculty member of the TCU religion department. Fort Worth is more accepting than most areas, but there are students on campus are not open about being Muslim.

Erin Munger - Photo Editor Imam Moujahed Bakhach prays Thursday during the last of five prayer sessions in the Muslim day. Bakhach leads the Muslim community at the Islamic Association of Tarrant County.

“They don’t want to be scrutinized by their peers,” Sodiq said.

He said there are about 18 Muslims on campus, many of whom are foreign students.

The TCU religion department offers trips to participate in services at local mosques, as well as other religious establishments, to encourage students to be aware of religions other than their own, Sodiq said.

Visits to mosques are fairly regular, and any student is welcome to attend, he said.

Several years ago University Ministries Rev. John Butler began a community group where Muslims, Christians and Jews met to discuss issues concerning their religions.

Emotions aimed in the Metroplex toward the Islamic community range from understanding and supportive to prejudiced and destructive. Several area mosques have been targets of vandalism as individuals decide who should be blamed for the loss of lives in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

“Labeling Muslims as terrorists is not a new thing,” Sodiq said.

Local Islamic leaders are encouraging Muslims to engage in social activities to promote awareness, he said.

There are approximately 60,000 Muslims in Tarrant County, said Imam Moujahed Bakhach.

An imam is the leader of a mosque, Bakhach leads the Islamic Association of Tarrant County.

“In light of what happened in New York, I really realize what we are lacking,” said Bakhach. “It brought me to the realization that we need to be a bigger part of the community.”

He said it is easy to be guilty by association when no one knows who Muslims really are and what Islam stands for.

“We are not making the effort to make the public aware of who we are. September 11 was a turning point for Muslims in the United States. They can now realize the importance of contributing to the awareness of the Muslim presence,” Bakhach said.

He said the events of Sept. 11 are not the teaching of Islam, but the opposite.

“Innocent people dying is not a part of Islamic teaching,” Bakhach said.

He said the community needs to know that the actions of the hijackers are not reflections of what Islam stands for. In fact, Bakhach said the very act of suicide committed by the terrorists is punishable by condemnation to hell according to the Koran.

Ronald Flowers, a TCU professor of religion, said Islam is Arabic for peace. It is the submission or surrender to God. The religion is based on a system of beliefs and guidelines centered around a monotheistic God and his words delivered by the prophet Muhammad.

The Islamic name for God is Allah, Flowers said. Muslims believe he is the only true god. They also believe Allah is the same as the Christian and Yahweh of Judaism.

“The three religions are linked together historically,” Flowers said.

Like Judaism, Islam says there are many prophets, including Jesus, but only Muhammad is Allah’s chosen prophet, Flowers said. The Christian belief of Jesus as part of the Holy Trinity compromises the Islamic belief of monotheism, he said.

Flowers said through Muhammad, Muslims receive the guidance of the will of Allah.

This is revealed in the Koran, which Muhammad wrote during his lifetime.

The Five Pillars of Islam are principles Muslims live by.

“The pillars are obligations, and the first is the most important,” said Flowers.

The Five Pillars of Islam

I. The Creed
Flowers said the creed states that there is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.

He said to be a Muslim, an individual must state this creed.

II. Prayer
Muslims are to pray five times a day, and they are to face the holy city of Mecca, Flowers said.

Criers call Muslims to prayer at sunrise, noon, mid-afternoon, evening and sundown, Flowers said. Regardless of where they are, they are to pray at these times, he said.

Flowers said everyone says the same prayer, and it is always in Arabic. He said women always pray in a separate area from the men, except during the pilgrimage to Mecca.

III. Charity
Each Muslim, if able, is to give 2 1/2 percent of their yearly income to the poor, Flowers said. He said this money is usually given to the poor of the Muslim community.

Sodiq said the Holy Lamb Foundation in Dallas, a non-profit Muslim organization, raises money to help Muslim orphans and poor in other countries.

IV. Fasting
In the Islamic year, which is based on a lunar calendar, Muslims are to fast during the 30 days of the ninth month called Ramadan, Flowers said.

During this month, Muslims are to abstain from food, drink and strenuous activity during daylight hours, he said.

Flowers said the purpose of the fast is for Muslim to remember significant events from Muhammad’s life and to teach them what it is like to be without. At the end of the fasting period, Muslims celebrate with a party.

V. Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
Hajj is the yearly event of pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the last 10 days of the Islamic year, Flowers said. Mecca is the city Muhammad purified and dedicated to the worship of Allah, he said.

Every Muslim is required to perform Hajj during his or her life at least once, Flowers said.

“One can only be exempt because of poor health or if one cannot afford to go,” Flowers said.

He said non-Muslims are not allowed into the holy precinct of the city, he said.

Erin Munger
e.r.munger@student.tcu.edu