Ein Rafa Mosque Tiyul

On the Islam tiyul, we learned about the history of Islam, as well as the modern issues and
philosophies surrounding it. Islam is a monotheistic religion that believes in one god, Allah,
and Muhammed is his prophet. It is the world’s second-largest religion, the followers of which
are known as Muslims. The primary scripture of the religion of Islam is the Quran. How does this
relate to us, the Jewish People? Well, Muslims consider Jews and Christians people of the book,
which is an elevated status from other religions, but still below them. The reason that they don’t
follow the Tanakh or New Testament is because they believe they were corrupted by human
interference.

We visited a mosque in Ein Rafa and met a woman who converted to Islam, named Yasmine.
We got to ask her questions in a very open setting. In the mosque, we separated the men and
women, and made sure to take off our shoes and enter stepping in with our right foot. The women
also covered their heads. By keeping all of these traditions, we were able to experience a mosque
how the local practicing Muslims do. Yasmine explained to us how most Muslims practice.
For example, they pray 5 times a day. This practice comes from the belief that Muhammad
ascended to heaven at the Dome of the Rock, and he negotiated the number of times they
are required to pray down from 50 to 5. In addition, she explained the belief that men should
never walk behind a woman so that she feels safe, like she won’t be attacked. She believes
that although on the surface many practices seem antifeminist, but they are more practical rules
than rules to reinforce the superiority of men. For example, women sit behind men so that men
aren’t distracted, not because the women are “behind” men or inferior.

What do you think about these practices? Do you agree that they are only for practical
reasons or are they to reinforce an inferior position for the women in society?

There are also many stereotypes about the connection between Islam and radicalism or terrorism.
In the discussion, we discussed how for the majority of Muslims, they don’t agree with or support
any of these radical or violent actions. Do you think that people are able to separate the
peaceful practice of Islam and the use of Islam as a reason for violence? Why is it difficult
to separate these groups?

One final ideal we learned about is that the only requirement to convert to Islam is to pronounce
your acceptance of Allah as the one true God and Muhammed as his only final prophet. It is
not about practice or ceremony, but about personal belief. Do you think it is a good thing
that Islam is so easy to convert into? What was the most interesting thing you learned
on the tiyul?

Choose two or three of the above questions to answer in the comments.