Remembering God and spending time in contemplation is an integral part of Islamic worship. Muslims are encouraged to do this from a young age and the school and facilities such as assembly are important in the spiritual and moral development of children.
In the context of Muslims living in Britain, we also need to remember the Christian heritage of European society and respect that. It is known that when one of the companions of the Prophet, Ibn Abbas, travelled he prayed in a church and the Prophet himself welcomed a Christian delegation in his mosque and allowed them to pray. Showing respect for other religions and cultures is thus strongly encouraged in Islam and the Qur’an itself describes that God could have created us all as one people, but He made us different on purpose, so that we may “come to know one another”.
There is naturally room for distinction – it is clear that Muslims believe that there is only one God, that He had no son, nor do they believe in the trinity – and this would be reflected in the way Muslims pray and worship. But Muslims also believe that God is a universal being; all religions and people worship, in essence, the same Creative force, even if we have different ways of expressing that. The word ‘Allah’ is simply the Arabic word for ‘the one true God’, indeed, used by many Arab Christians.
It is thus important that Muslims have experience of the way that other religions worship and also observe closely and learn from the values and teachings of other faiths.
- Dilwar Hussain
About assemblies and prayer
I attend a state school but in assemblies we are sometimes required to sing hymns or say prayers. Are these allowed?
