What Do Muslims Hear In Mosque?

Note: This very interesting post is from the German magazine 'Der Spiegal'.

Read on and learn...



Last Monday, the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal 1427, traffic stood still in most Islamic countries, government employees had the day off and children stayed home from school. On the 12th of Rabi, the world's Muslims observe the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

Islam has many faces, and on the Friday before the Prophet's birthday, SPIEGEL correspondents visited mosques from Nigeria to Indonesia to listen to the sermons of the imams. They were there in part to look into a suspicion that has taken hold in the West, especially since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Have the mosques been transformed from a place of prayer into a hotbed of extremism and center of Islamist indoctrination? Is there truly a dangerous clash of cultures underway, as so many people in Europe and America fear?
Radical preachers have actively contributed to this impression. In a Berlin mosque, a television crew secretly recorded the sermon of a Turkish imam who described the Germans as godless and railed against their alleged stench. In London, hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri called upon the faithful to murder female tourists in his native Egypt, saying: "If a woman, even a Muslim woman, is naked and you have no way of covering her up, it is legitimate to kill her."

Other agents of the Koran speak moderately when addressing Western audiences, but their words turn decidedly more radical when directed towards Muslims. In an interview with SPIEGEL, television imam Yusuf al-Qaradawi, perhaps currently one of the most influential Islamic scholars around, magnanimously conceded that there is also room in heaven for devout Christians and Jews. But on his Arab-language website a short time later, he made it clear that he believes that Christians and Jews are ultimately nothing more than infidels.

To ensure that religious speech doesn't suddenly turn into political invective, hundreds of police officers are stationed in the streets around the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo every Friday during prayers. The faithful have rarely staged demonstrations after prayers in recent years, and when they have, many of the "demonstrators" were undercover police officers. But such precautions are unnecessary on the Friday before the Prophet's birthday. Indeed, Imam Yusuf warned his audience against the excesses of religious fervor, saying that "the extremist doesn't plow the earth, nor does he allow any flowers to grow."

Throughout the world, Friday prayers are the high point of the week in the life of a devout Muslim. It was a Friday when Adam entered the Garden of Eden, and it was a Friday when he left it again. The faithful believe that Muhammad said that the day of resurrection would also be a Friday. Muhammad supposedly also said that "God commanded both the Jews and the Christians to celebrate Friday as a day of worship but they ignored His command." Muslims see the Koran as God's last and complete revelation, and every Friday sermon serves as a reminder of that belief.


AL-AZHAR, CAIRO
The mosque and university was established more than a thousand years ago by Fatimide commander Gauhar al- Sikilli, and is considered the most important center of learning in Sunni Islam to this day. The Friday preacher, Dr. Id Abd al- Hamid Yussuf, 65, is completely against the use of Islam for political purposes.

The Prophet forgave those who committed injustices against him. He pardoned the murderer of his uncle, Hamsa. He forgave his people when they banished him from Mecca … Islam spread throughout the world through argument and conviction, but not through the sword, as the enemies of Islam have claimed. Islam only used the sword when it was attacked … The Prophet forbade extremism and fanaticism. He said: "I was sent to you out of the generosity of God. Night became day. Anyone who strays from this path will fall victim to ruin." For some, religion is like a maze. Enter it with caution, because whoever approaches religion as an extremist will perish in his extremism.


BLUE MOSQUE, ISTANBUL
The house of worship, completed in 1616 under Sultan Ahmet I, is one of Istanbul's major mosques intended to embody the faith and power of the Ottoman Empire. The mosque's imam, Emrullah Hatipoglu, delivered the sermon.

There is no science without God. We see all the things that can happen in the schools when children do not learn in the name of God. When there are murders in the schools today, when an inhuman development becomes a threat, we must ask ourselves what led to this development. God says in the Koran: Murdering an innocent person is the same as murdering all of mankind … The Koran permeates our lives.

But there are problems with our attitudes to the Koran. We do not apply it everywhere. Let us assume that we are running a supermarket. Are we permitted to sell merchandise there that is prohibited in Islam, goods that are not legitimate? No? But many Muslims are doing just that. The goods must conform to the standards established in Turkey and the rules of consumer protection, but not those of the Koran. Is the sale of alcohol and pork allowed? What about the Koran? These, my fellow Muslims, are all sins.





NUR MOSQUE, GAZA STRIP
In this mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp with ties to the extremist Hamas movement, Friday prayers ended with an appeal to Palestinians to rise up against Israeli occupiers. The sermon was given by 38- year- old Imam Talal al- Majdalawi.

When the Jews withdrew from the Gaza Strip, we thought that we had gained all the freedom in the world. But then came the bombardment. This is a sign, you faithful, that your battle with the Jews is still a long way from coming to an end. It proves that the conflict is not taking place among us and between us, but with the infidel Jews. This is why you should say, whenever there is a rocket attack: God be praised, there is no God other than the one God, and He is our protector. We say to the Jews: "What you are doing to us today is written in the book of God." There it is said: "Your will suffer fear and hunger." But we too will sow fear and terror, as they have never seen before, in the hearts of those who bring us fear and hunger today. With the help of God, we should be afraid of nothing. We must not be afraid whenever a bullet strikes its target or whenever we are threatened … This does not frighten us. This should make us strong in our fight against the Jews.



UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN
The Friday sermon at the University of Tehran is held exclusively by high- ranking members of the country's ruling Shiite clergy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme religious leader, personally appoints the campus preachers, among whom Hojjatolislam Ahmed Khatami is a novice. He preached to thousands of the faithful.

The Shiite and Sunni brothers find themselves facing a common enemy, one whose goal is to attack Islam. This is not just about Shiites. Any insult to the Prophet is an insult to the entire religion. For this reason, the Shiites and the Sunnis must strive to achieve more cooperation and unity of the hearts in this respect. Shiites and Sunnis should live together like brothers …

Our enemies are using the fairy tale about nuclear energy to bring about a crisis. The Security Council of the United Nations has itself become a factor of uncertainty and injustice, instead a forum for the security of the world … According to international custom, it is our right to control the technology to obtain nuclear energy. The Security Council wants to prevent us from mastering this technology. There is a law of the jungle, and it says: The strong will prevail. But our nation has made it clear that we want our right. We will stand up for our right with our blood and until we breathe our last breath.



Comment: These speeches from various mosques around the world will be the very first time many readers will have read anything from a mosque. As readers can see politics features very much in the talks. The Western concept of the divsion of 'Church and State' has a long way to go in Islam.