Archive for the ‘Owais Bayunus’ Tag
Changing the Media’s Relationship to Muslims
By Owais Bayunus, Islamic Center of Minnesota
As we all know, the media is the most important tool of modern times. It provides us not only with knowledge of what is happening in the world around us, but it also profoundly affects our analysis of world affairs. Due to our hectic way of life, most of us believe in what we see and hear in the news as holy truth. We don’t have time to check the authenticity of what has been shown or told to us.
I hadn’t realized the effect of media on even very young children until I recently overheard my four-year-old grandson telling his seven-year-old sister that he liked Obama. The six-year-old yelled back that she liked Hillary.
Unfortunately, Muslims in America have a unique relationship with the news media. Read more »
Reflections from my Spiritual Journey to Makka
Filed under: Islam | Tags: Angel Gabriel, Baka'a, Hajirah, hajj, Ibrahim, Islam, Ismael, Jedda, Kaaba, lean camels, Makka, Mecca, Owais Bayunus, Pakistan, pillars, religion, Saudi Arabia, Zamzam
Comments (3) By Owais Bayunus, Engage Minnesota
Hajj is considered the fifth pillar of Islam, meaning every Muslim who can afford it and is in good health has to perform Hajj (at least) once in his lifetime.
My very first recollection of people going to perform Hajj was in my childhood in Karachi, where all the pilgrims from Pakistan used to assemble at the harbor to board ships heading towards Saudi Arabia. There was a distinct difference between them and the rest of the people who were not going to Hajj. The men were all dressed in white, women well covered, and you could see children running around dressed similarly. They were more organized than other people and always remained with their group, lest they get lost and be a problem for themselves and others.
When one of my father’s friends went to perform Hajj, my father took me along to bid him farewell at the passenger ship. In those days, the rich pilgrims normally flew to Jeddah directly and the middle class and the poorer people would take a ship to Jeddah, a journey of almost seven days. Read more »
