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Dates (the kind you eat), feasts, relatives, and tea. Arab Muslims enjoy a world of all this and much more, at their homes in the Middle East.
The colonization of much of ancient Arabia by Islamic empires, resulted in the Arabic language being adopted as the language of Islam. It is important to remember that an Arab need not always be Muslim, and the reverse is of course, true.
Arab Muslims, who reside in their Middle Eastern homes, are lucky to be able to practise their religion in freedom. They are also able to celebrate it as per tradition, as their elders and rulers allow and encourage it. In Arabia, at least, both Sunnis and Shias are allowed to celebrate their various feasts in the ways that they traditionally do.
The holy month of Ramadan is spent with religious determination, abstaining from food and drink from sunrise until sunset. The call to prayer is announced with a blast from the cannon, signaling the end of a long day’s fast. The first thing to be consumed is the date, as the Prophet had done all those centuries before.
It is a common sight at Eid, to see the goat being slaughtered out in the open, prior to becoming the main ingredient of a delicious biryani just hours later. Or during other Eid festivals, there is the traditional distribution of money among the children of the family. This is then spent on making Eid as colorful and fun as the one that preceded it.
Arab Muslim women are given liberty depending on the part of the Middle East she is settled in. Certain countries allow her to receive an education, seek and engage in employment and even choose her own life partner. Other countries may be more restrictive. She is always brought up, however, with an awareness of her culture and values.
Arab Muslims are tolerant of other religions and cultures. While remaining steadfast to their own religion, they engage in healthy dialogue with their friends of other faiths. While many parts of the Middle East have an open culture, like that of the West, certain countries, like Saudi Arabia, impose a great number of restrictions in order to make it easier for Muslims to follow their religion. The capital punishments, compulsory wearing of the headscarf for women, and other assorted regulations seek to lower the amount of temptation the average Muslim is subjected to, so as to increase his religious participation. While this may seem a practical deal for the practicing Muslim, the non-Muslim residing there may not agree.
Muslims all over the world follow the teachings of the Prophet faithfully, always bowing to the Mecca in prayer. Arab Muslims, too, engage in their faith and are ready to discuss it with interested people of other backgrounds. At the same time, current events and modern thinking is pushing several Arab intellectuals to rethink fundamental beliefs that they had taken for granted. This could lead to a better acceptance of Islam worldwide.
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