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My Recent Life as an Islamic Woman Living in Guyana

February 16, 2008

Allah in Islam means God and the word Islam in itself means Peace. Islam as a precept calls for complete acceptance of and submission to the teachings and guidance of Allah.
As a young woman growing up in Guyana during the late eighties and early nineties, I found it rather difficult during my days at school. Bring one of the only Muslim girls at school, I was ridiculed for my beliefs. My peers would voice them self in rage and portrayed animosity towards me. They loathed the fact that I wore a Hijab or as it is referred to, a Muslim headdress. As an adult now I understand the innocence of childhood but the experience has thought me the dichotomy that still exists within the Guyanese culture and home circle.

In Guyana, women are forbidden to worship at some of the Mosques because it is believed that women get more blessings from praying in their homes. Women who wear gowns and veil over their faces do not get employment. This is a part of the cultural footing that needs to change. For Guyana on the whole to be a unified nation the various religions need to embrace diversity and accept each other for their beliefs. Our Coat of Arms state One People, One Nation, and One Destiny. But this is clearly not the case. We are a divided nation and our destinies are multilateral. Change starts within the heart. We all need too embrace our diversities and collaborate as one force to sustain our philosophy of One People. This very reason is why Guyana is economically suffering and socially dismembered. After 9/11 and UK bombings, people, my own West Indian people threw stones at me when I walked down the road. I was on a different continent, far from the war but I wasn’t. Beliefs and values do not end where continental boundaries end. They live within us and exist as a natural part of our existence and this is why I say that change starts from the heart. In battling to explain the truth about Islam, I was banished by my peer group. At the age of twenty, my social network was dissolved because most of my peers belonged to different religious group. But it is this ignorance that that worries me the most. If our children do not learn to embrace diversity, how will they embrace the world that they will interact with? Diversity is a natural part of the human habitat and in order for the human race to persevere.

My parents taught me to pray. It is compulsory I Islam to pray five times a day. The Prayers are called Fajir which is conducted at 5.15 am, Zohar at 12.00 noon, Asr at 4.30 pm, Magrib at 5.45 pm and Asia at 7.15pm. or more simply its dawn, noon, mid afternoon, sunset and nightfall. My prayers strengthen my belief in God; it purifies my heart and control temptations. During the month of fasting [Ramadan] I awake at 4.30 am and shower so that my body is clean. After I’ve had a snack I performed Wudu [absolution], and begin my prayers facing the east. One has to abstain from food, beverages, and sex from dawn to sunset and curb all evil intentions and lustrous thoughts. Ramadan or fasting is a form of worship in a way which one can feel the hunger of those who are deprived. It teaches us love and sincerity. It also develops patience, unselfishness and the will power to bear hardship. Zakat is another word for charity. During this month, a fixed contribution is collected from Muslim earnings and spent on the indigent to buy food. If a Muslim can afford and provide the means to undertake a journey, then it is obligatory to perform Hajj. Hajj is a pilgrimage to the Kabah in Mecca. Muslims believe that there will be a judgment day where all would be resurrected and appear before God and face the consequence or deliverance from his/her deeds in life. Thus, life in the hereafter is a continuation of earthly life - free from all sins and diseases.

We are all God’s children and regardless our race or religious organizations we are being taught by all the Holy Scriptures and the morals handed down by our forefathers. Our Morals are modesty, truthfulness; respect the elderly, prayers, kind treatment to animals, helping the poor and visiting the sickly. There, we’re not so different at all.

Apsana


Written by Andrew · Filed Under All    

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