A World at War with Itself
The podcast will be for a year, where Julie Finch-Scally, writer and broadcaster can interview people about life and the current situation of the world. She will discuss how so many things have changed over the past 80 years since her birth, and what the world needs to change to improve and save the planet from ourselves.
A World at War with Itself
Islam
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The fastest growing religion in the world is Islam. What does Islam offer that the other relgions don"t? Nazmul Hasan a devote muslim, gives Julie some explanations.
Hi there, Julie Finch Scalli with you again for another episode of A World of War with Itself. This week I am continuing with the category of religion, and it is Islam. I have in the studio with me Nasmal Hassan, who is a member of the Muslim community. Thank you for coming in today, Nasmal.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Julie. Thanks for having me in the studio for for this beautiful chat.
SPEAKER_00Firstly, a little bit of your background. You set up some support during COVID or something for people. What were you doing?
SPEAKER_01Well, during COVID lockdown time, Canberra went, you know, lockdown suddenly, and I saw families in in the community quietly was looking for help. And with the means that I had I just started free hot meals and quickly it became thousands and thousands of meals during the COVID time. And that's how I came to in the community service. It was an eye-opener for me to see the community and in the dire needs. The and w when you start talking to people, cracks starts to open and you see the real picture of people.
SPEAKER_00Oh that's interesting. Lovely. Look, I've asked you to talk about Islam as you are a Muslim, so you've got it's always been considered, as far as I'm concerned, as a Middle Eastern religion. Is this the case?
SPEAKER_01No, Islam is not the uh Middle Eastern religion at all. In fact, it is a universal faith. So it is for all people at all times, not just for one region or ethnic groups, and it is the continuation of the same religion, monoetheism, which is the religion of Adam. So it is not something new and it hasn't started in the Middle East. G from the Jesus to Prophet Muhammad, there was about 600 years approximately. So Islam is the continuation of this religion and Prophet Muhammad is the seal of the Prophet.
SPEAKER_00So don't he basically was the instigator of the Muslim religion?
SPEAKER_01He he wasn't. And this is the part I think a lot of people sometimes mix it up. Islam is the continuation of the same message sent to previous prophets. So the time gap, as I said before, 600 years, yeah. About 600 years between Jesus and Prophet Muhammad. The second last prophet was Jesus, and the Prophet Muhammad is the seal of the Prophet. So he is not the instigator, he's just another messenger, as the seal of the Prophet came with that message that came, Jesus also came with him.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And the teachings of Muhammad still being followed today?
SPEAKER_01Yes, the Quran emphasizes obedience of the Prophet Muhammad that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. And our command from the God was to follow that command that came into the Quran and followed and showed by Prophet Muhammad. And Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he never spoke from his own. Everything was a revelation from God. So every practice, every order that Prophet has described is ordained from God. Today in the world, Islam is the fastest growing religion at this current state. For example, in the United States, about hundred thousand Muslim increases every year in the US. So it is the fastest growing religion across the globe. In Australia, in America, in Europe, in Asia, and some other countries in the world, Africa. The people who follow the Islam, he follows his guidance in worship, ethics, and daily life. His teachings continue to be a model of mercy, justice, and compassion.
SPEAKER_00You worship in a mosque. Was it a building for worship before Muhammad came or did it get changed?
SPEAKER_01Place of worship, a mosque literally means place of prostration. So the mosque is a house, a place where we come together for prayer, to meet and greet other people, to have a community life, to learn, learn from others and teach others as well. And so mosque is very significant in our Islamic culture.
SPEAKER_00And then what you've just been describing, would you say they were the specific ideals of Islam?
SPEAKER_01No, no, no. In Islam there is five pillars of Islam.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01So that is the Shahada which we bear witness that there is none worthy and worship except one God. And then there is Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of God. And then the second pillar of Islam is prayer. So we pray five times a day. Different times in the during the day, it takes about an hour approximately for all five times. And then Ramadan, fasting in the month of Ramadan, that's the third pillar. Then we're going into the Hajj pilgrimage if you have physical and financial ability to do so after maintaining your life expenses. And the fifth and the final pillar of Islam is charity. If you have certain wealth, above that minimum you should give to the people who is needy, welfare, people in debt. There are categories of people that you can give that charity. This purifies you. This is mandatory on us if we have certain amount of money. These are the five pillars of Islam.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Now you mentioned Ramadan and you mentioned the Hajj. Are they the main festivals or celebrations that you have in in your religion?
SPEAKER_01Yes, you are right. Hajj is about to come, like about a few months after Ramadan is Hajj. This year would be first week of June. First end of May, first week of June. So this is a big celebration. One is end of Ramadan. We celebrate as an Eid. So we go and pray in the morning, and then we wear best clothes possible that we have, and then we eat something to break our fast. And then we go in the open field, a big congregation. Then we pray first. And then we celebrate with other people and that could go two, three days. And then the other next one, the Hajj one that is coming, this is Eidl Adha. Adha means we sacrifice animals. We as a pilgrimage, when you go to Mecca, we actually practice this. It's part of our Hajj rituals that we do, the sacrifices of uh Ishmael, sac uh the Prophet Abraham and his wife. So in this festival that we do rest of the world, Edel Fitr, sorry, Eid al Adha, that we sacrifice an animal and we distribute those meats in the world. In other Australia is quite rich. But if we find anybody, three portions of the meat, one for us, one for relatives, and one for the poor and needy. So we celebrate, and then then of course we give gifts, we visit our neighbors, we give goes to the relatives. Um we have holidays in the Muslim countries. So that's how we celebrate two two days. Two different things.
SPEAKER_00You said you worship every day, but I was in Malaysia not so long ago, and Friday is the main day for somebody to go to to the mosque. Why does why was Friday chosen?
SPEAKER_01Anything that in Islam we do, it is the order from God. So Friday is a blessed day that was chosen by God in the Quran. It's a day that was first chosen by God Himself. It's a blessed day. It's there are a lot of events that took place and will place on this Friday. Friday is a day, it's a weekly spiritual, and we don't pray like uh normally I can pray at home or in the mosque. But Friday prayer, it needs to have a certain number of people together. Minimum it's one of the holiest days among these seven days of the week. It follows, it's a includes a congregation congregational prayer and sermon, which is we call khutbah. It encourages cleanliness, wearing good clothes, Ali Ariban, a reflection of what we do.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I saw this when I was in Malaysia, but it was all men and boys going to the mosque. There was no women.
SPEAKER_01Islam does not prohibit women in the mosque for Friday prayer. Men are obliged to attend Friday prayers, but women are fully allowed to attend. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he said, do not prevent the female servants of God from the mosque of Allah. Alright.
SPEAKER_00So they can go if they want to.
SPEAKER_01100%. So cultural practice sometimes affects attendance, but theology, theologically, it supports both genders participating, men and women. There is no prohibition.
SPEAKER_00For example, if you go Do they worship together though?
SPEAKER_01Uh it's a segregated, but in the same mosque. It's the same mosque. There is a upstairs as Muslim women only segregated place. So then it doesn't distract. So we are, as you understand, devils. Make people look towards each other, their sexual orientation, I would say, could attract and it could deviate from your thinking towards God to somebody. First of all, it's an order from God that men and women should have some sort of uh segregation, modesty. So the prophet's instruction, so that is also an instruction that um the best rows for men is at the front, best row for women is at the back.
SPEAKER_00So they don't see them.
SPEAKER_01That's correct. And so now in Western countries, because we could build, that's why we build upstairs, segregated, child mining, and many facilities we do. But if you go to, for example, in Mecca, the main mosque during pilgrimage, men and women together they circum. Yes. And in this is the only place. But again, when you pray, men and women do not pray together. They need there needs to be segregation.
SPEAKER_00Even in their own homes.
SPEAKER_01Even my me and my wife pray.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01W sometimes we pray at home. So me and my son, which is the eldest one, is twelve. We stand at the front. My wife and my daughter and the little one, who always try to go with the mom, and so this three stand at the back. That's a standard practice in Islam.
SPEAKER_00But is that the reason why the women the Islamic women wear burkus or the hijab?
SPEAKER_01No, hijab or burqa is a part of modesty. Now it goes with men as well. Modesty is for men as well. But particularly in this instance, you mentioned hijab and burqa. This is the order from God to cover for men also the same. That we also have to cover, and we also have to cover not just the body, our eyes, our minds. This is a very difficult task. That you have to remember that whatever we do in Islam, it's the order from God. And unfortunately, we don't have choice. We may have a view, but we don't have a choice. So it's it's about dignity, yeah, identity, and personal devotion. It's not something that somebody force on women, no, not at all.
SPEAKER_00People sort of think that, don't they?
SPEAKER_01People do. And uh part of this, my conversation in the public places when I do go, this is one of the common things people ask. And I quite often bring women, other women with us in the conversation. And the people have first hand experience talking to these women, whether their husband or their parents actually force them or not. It is not true, it's absolutely not. They it's their own choice, it's their own body, it's for their own modesty. Now Islam has given huge rights to women. That fairness is something that is taught very precisely in Islam. And same goes with the rights of women. Women's rights in Islam goes to inheritance. I have to look after as a husband to my wife. My wife's money, whatever she makes, I don't have any rights. In Islam. I as especially me as a husband, I have to look after her. Even if she needs hus servants, she has the right to choose whether she will stay in the marriage or she would leave. She has a decision-making process. Women has more rights sometimes than men. What you see in some parts of the world or some oppression that it's it's individual, it's cultural. It's local.
SPEAKER_00For their own means.
SPEAKER_01If you look at throughout the history, it's like for example, multiple marriages, more than one marriage. That existed before even Prophet Muhammad. You know, so it's nothing new in in the world. Uh, and oppression towards women, it's nothing new, even not just the Muslim. But when you see this happens, it quite often it is the culture, nothing to do with Islam. I give you one example.
SPEAKER_00Because a lot of religions have been taken over by the social mores of the country that people that the religions gone into. Halal meals you were delivering. What what's halal mean?
SPEAKER_01Halal and haram, these are the two Arabic words. Haram means halal means permissible. Haram means not permissible. Now forbidden items in in our Islamic terms it's pork, blood, dead animals, or uh anything dedicated to other than God the Almighty. Now, when we say halal meat, it's actually if you look at Quran, Quran said if people of the book slaughter an animal for you, it is halal, it is legal for you. You just it the animal needs to be sacrificed with the name of God.
SPEAKER_00Look, thank you, Nasmal. I'm sure you have assisted many people who see Islam as a threat, but like all religions, is a means to help others and make themselves better people. I've been speaking with Nasmul Hassan, a practicing Muslim and a believer in helping others. And that's the end of this week's episode of A World at War with Itself. Thank you for joining me today. This is Julie Finch Scalli, looking forward to speaking with you again next week.