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When guests arrived for the Islamic Center of Maine’s third annual open house Saturday, a gentleman standing near the door reminded them to remove their shoes before entering the mosque. He indicated a room to the left where there is a shoe rack.
The center is located in Orono, and its open house featured a panel discussion titled “Quran: Learn it or Burn it?”
People were praying for the fourth time that day in the main room of the building. The women were behind the men, and all faced toward Mecca, the Muslim holy land.
Attendees spoke with lowered voices, but as the mosque began to fill, the noise increased. A silence began falling over the crowd soon after 5 p.m. When all were quiet, Basi Baleela began the open house by reciting a verse from chapter 20 of the Quran.
Baleela was followed by Fazeel Hasmi, who recited the English translation of the verse. Guests were provided with paper copies of the translation.
In his speech, Dr. Muhammad Mir, an internist at Eastern Maine Medical Center, explained the origins of the Quran, its history and its message. Mir also discussed frequent misconceptions of non-Muslims, including the notion that Muslims and Christians worship different gods.
Mir spoke for almost an hour, but his speech was cut short by moderator Rev. Mark Worth to allow time for a Q-and-A session. When Mir finished, the floor was opened to the audience.
An audience member asked why the women remained behind the men during prayer. Jenan Jondy, outreach coordinator for ICMO, explained that that is the way the prophet taught them to pray. She speculated another reason for the differentiation between genders: Islam is a religion of submission and modesty, and perhaps women were situated behind the men to protect their modesty.
Female empowerment through the Quran was a hot topic for both Mir and audience members. Many Muslim countries restrict the rights of women, but according to Mir this is not the teaching of Islam. In the Quran, men and women are considered to be equal.
Mir reminded the audience that any deviation from literal teachings of the Quran was because of socio-political factors, rather than religious ones.
“From the very beginning, the female was protected,” Jondy said. “The way I cover is extremely empowering. I’m not judged for my outward appearance.”
Another audience member thanked ICMO for hosting the event. Her question of how she could help support the organization was met with applause.
“Guests come in, and when they leave they teach other people what they have learned,” Jondy said, adding that media play a large role in the way Muslims are perceived in America. “Every time we teach one person, a thousand more people turn on their TV and see a negative story.”
Mir discussed the role translating the Quran has in differing interpretations of the prophet’s message. Muslims around the world read the Quran in Arabic, as keeping the text in its original language means a lesser chance of mistranslations, and thus a more consistent understanding of the verses.
There is only one version of the text, Mir explained to the audience. During the time of the prophet, the Quran was revised daily to ensure it was as accurate as possible, he said. Every year the text would go through a cover-to-cover overhaul to ensure cohesion between verses.
Mir emphasized the importance of religion to humanity as a whole. “Only humans have religion; wolves and hyenas do not have religion,” Mir said.
Bangor Daily News