Everyday Islam

At the mall

I was talking to a guy at work awhile back and he made the comment that he grew up in a suburb of Melbourne Australia and that even after being here 4 years, he still notices the call to prayer, it's still just a bit remarkable to him but he's pleased to be raising kids here who are exposed to all sorts of culture and religion. Kids who don't bat an eye at the sound of the call or a woman in a burqa or celebrating Diwali or Halloween for that matter. It's all still remarkable to me too, the way this religion that I'm not so familiar with is woven into the fabric of everyday life.

In the newspaper each day there's a small box, much like the other small box that reports the weather and sunrise and so on, this one is labeled "Prayer Timings" and it lists out the 5 times scheduled for the call to prayer that day. The times shift a bit with the seasons and calendar. I like the voice of the man who does the call at the mosque near my apartment/ hotel, very melodic and peaceful. In my bedroom here there's an arrow stuck up on the ceiling pointing toward Mecca to help with orientation at prayer time. In the malls, LCD screens that normally run ads will switch to a peaceful image of a mosque during prayer time and public buildings- malls, offices, even gas stations that serve as rest areas on an open stretch of highway- will have separate prayer rooms available for men and women. We have a prayer room in the Library.

cloudy morning room view at spa

robes? check. towels? check. prayer rugs? check.

Having certain things separated by gender can be pretty great for me. I went to a post office today that had a Ladies' Line which was much shorter than the general line. On the metro there's a ladies' car (open to kids too) which isn't any less crowded during peak times but does tend to smell better! I went to a ladies only spa this past weekend and it had a lovely vibe with all of us wandering about in fluffy robes by the seaside for mani-pedi's and massages and an overnight stay- we booked all 5 available rooms and had the place to ourselves in the evening after the day spa crowd left. I opened the closet in my room at the spa and thought, "oh! did they provide us with little beach blankets?" but no, upon further inspection I realized there were 2 prayer rugs provided in my room.

While the "ladies only" bits are sometimes nice, the no bacon and booze bits are more of a challenge

"pork for non-muslims" section of the grocery

but not an insurmountable challenge for the non-Muslim. There are pork sections in some grocery stores and liquor can be had easily (if expensively) by the drink at hotels or in full bottles in designated liquor stores with a number of rules and hurdles, but it's not much more onerous than the laws in Utah!

These are all the outside trappings of Islam as I run up against them day to day. Of course there's an entire rich belief system underlying all these things. I've learned a bit about that as well but as a not especially religious person, I find it less compelling than the cultural expressions of belief and traditions inspired by the religion.

post spa stop at the barracuda liquor emporium

purchases wrapped for transport