Miller Makes Salat - Kinda

My puppy, Gabe, eats my socks. If they are destroyed, I throw them away. If there is only a small hole that doesn’t show above my shoe, I will wear a holy sock. God, in his providence, perhaps in order to keep me humble, allowed his utterly unworthy servant to wear a holy sock on the very Friday I visited an Islamic prayer service, where removing one’s shoes is strictly required.

The Islamic term for what a Christian would call “going to church” is to “make salat.” This is what I would call “public worship” as opposed to private worship, which is required for a Muslim, five times daily. I have attended three such events at two different “maasjid” or, in English, mosques. At each visit I was treated with more than respect.  There was a general warmth and kindness expressed toward me. I witnessed many who had what can only be called a “generous spirit.” I experienced no one who was rude, unkind, or even unfriendly. After each visit, I had an opportunity to speak with the Imam or, in the case of the more Eastern Majid, the “caliphate.” It is said that Islam has no a class of persons who is set apart as a special “pastoral” role. My observation is that this may be true in status but, in function the Imam is definitely a pastor to the members of that particular fellowship.

In addition to my visits, we hosted the former “Nation of Islam or Black Muslim) Imam at our Wednesday night study. He was afforded full and unrestricted access to the hearing of those who came. We wanted nothing more from him than to help us better understand Islam. (By the way, I rather doubt I would be afforded the same forum in either Maasjid.) In the more than ten hours of conversation with two different Imams, I viewed myself as a student of Islam. Following the wisdom of “seek first to understand” I asked for clarification on matters that I did not fully grasp and verification or correction of things I thought I knew about Islam. I received both in great abundance. In the natural course of our dialogue I presented a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I had a personal interest in the place of Jesus in Islamic teaching and the role of the Christian New Testament and Hebrew Old Testament in Islamic theology. In the Quran Jesus is called “Isa” and the revelation about him is called the “Injeel.” Isa is the Crown of the Prophets but Mohammad is the Seal of the Prophets - the last Prophet. God came to Mohammed in order to correct the previous witnesses or prophets whose teachings had been corrupted by Jews and Christians. I learned that the Injeel is not a separate document. It is only found in the pages of the Quran. 

The second Imam I met was Jordanian the first was a Louisianan reared in a Baptist home around Cotton Valley.  The Jordanian informed me that he had been given a copy of the New Testament in Arabic but had never read it. I was surprised that such an obviously learned man had not read the Christ Scriptures. The last things I said to him I was, “Please read the New Testament, I would love to hear your impressions of its teachings.”

In another post I’ll try to summarize the insights I have gained into this fascinating and complex religion.