Are there specific controls on the performance of Muslim rituals in public in your country?

Manal, Faculty of Arabic Studies (Figurative Language), Al Azhar University

1 comment:

  1. Hi Manal,
    I am from the United States and, although I can't really comment about your question from a particular legal point of view, since I am not familiar enough with the law on this point, I wanted to share with you my impressions. The U.S. constitution requires a separation of "church" (religion-be it Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, or any faith) and "state"--government. This creates restrictions for the public practice of any kind of religion--for example, in public schools you can't say a prayer as part of class. So although there probably are controls on the performance of rituals in public, I think this would apply to all religions and not only to Muslim rituals. That said, some rituals may be more difficult to practice even in private--I do not know if this is the case, but there might be a restriction against the killing of animals without a license to do so, and so rituals that involve the slaughter of a sheep for example, may not be able to be done at home as easily.

    I do know that institutions are trying more and more to provide the means for people of different faiths to be able to practice their religions, for example at school or in the workplace. At my university there is a "Muslim prayer room" where students may go to pray, and during Ramadan our professor would give us a break at sunset so that the Muslim students in our class could have a small meal. I have seen workplaces that provide spaces for prayer as well. I think that the concern is to provide the means for everyone to practice their religions to the extent possible, without encroaching on the rights of others to practice their own beliefs.

    Rachel, California, USA

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