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Men, wearing in airy white tunics and jeans, flock to the mosque every day for the Tarawih prayers. emphis Commercial Appeal photo) |
CAIRO — Hailing from different culture and backgrounds, Muslims across the Memphis city in the southern US state of Tennessee are coming together at twilight to break their fast and pray.
"You find people from every corner of the world," Mohammad Khan, a software engineer of Pakistani origin, the Memphis Commercial Appeal daily on Saturday, September 6.
"There is a true Islam here."
Men, wearing in airy white tunics and jeans, flock to the Masjid As-Salam, the area's largest mosque, for performing prayers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Women, some in dark concealing hijabs and others in bright feathery scarves, also join in.
"What is so beautiful about this is Allah brought us together under this faith," said Imam Maleck Sarr, a Senegalese.
The Greater Memphis area is home to between 10,000 to 15,000 Muslims.
American Muslims, estimated between six and seven million, started observing Ramadan on Monday, September 1.
In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.
It is customary for Muslims to spend part of the days during Ramadan studying the Noble Qur'an.
Many men perform i`tikaf (spiritual retreat), spending the last 10 days of the month exclusively in the mosque.
Harmony
Greater Memphis is also marked with harmonious relations among its metropolitan Muslims.
Ali Halirou, African, came to the area three years ago.
"We were anxious what the Mid-South would look like," said Halirou, who does marketing for FedEx.
By time, he developed a close friendship with Badrul Hossain, of Bangladeshi origin.
Hossain, the president of the Muslim Society of Memphis, says he would have never imagined calling an African a close friend.
"I had bad generalities of people in Africa ... chasing lions," he said, laughing at himself.
Now, he considers Halirou among the 10 dearest people in his life.
"The thing I am most proud of our mosque is the diversity."
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