Christian Encounter with Islam Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte Spring 2020
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Istanbul Prayer Guide
PRAY THE DISTRICTS OF ISTANBULa prayer guide Step out the door and hear the horns honking, street dogs barking and the call of a local simit* seller bellowing out “Fresh simit! Fresh simit!” A gypsy woman sets up her street display—bright shades of orange and red daisies—and settles down on a short stool with a cup of tea, ready to watch the day go by. A businessman with a newspaper tucked under one arm and a briefcase slung over his shoulder dodges a taxi while crossing the street and also checking the soccer scores on his smart phone. Street cats congregate around a plate of fish that a benevolent neighbor has bestowed. The scented air outside a corner bakery tempts hungry passers-by. This is ISTANBUL. * A simit is a sesame-coated ring of bread In the last two decades the city of Istanbul has experienced explosive growth, pushing its boundaries ever further, swallowing up green space and creating new districts. Each district, or ilce, functions like a small town, with its own government and priorities, all the while remaining a distinct segment of the city of Istanbul. Most tourists visiting Istanbul are romanced by the charm of the old city, once known as Constantinople. They tour the top sites carefully marking attractions off their list: —Hagia Sophia, famed church-turned-mosque-turned-museum —Sultanahmet, the Blue Mosque, exquisitely tiled Muslim place of worship —The Cisterns, underground water system dating to the Byzantine era —Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace, homes of the Ottoman sultans Most never see more than one or two of Istanbul’s forty-one districts. -
Liturgy of the Hours and Islamic Salat
LITURGY OF THE HOURS AND ISLAMIC SALAT A Comparative study of Public-Liturgical Worship of Christians and Muslims Dissertation presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctorate Degree in the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg Alfred C. Anazodo 2001 II TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations, Sources and Bibliography....................................................................VIII 1. General abbreviations, Periodicals, Magazines, Lexica and collections..............VIII 2. Sources......................................................................................................................X 3. Bibliography .........................................................................................................XIII PREFACE.........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE............................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 General remarks on worship................................................................................... 4 1.1.1 Ritual in worship ............................................................................................. 7 1.1.2 Ritual-Symbolic Action .................................................................................... 7 1.2 Remarks on Christian worship .............................................................................. -
PRAYER DURING RAMADAN Each Year, Faithful Muslims Around the World Spend 30 Days Fasting and Praying During the Month of Ramadan
SERVING PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS WORLDWIDE 30 DAYS OF PRAYER DURING RAMADAN Each year, faithful Muslims around the world spend 30 days fasting and praying during the month of Ramadan. In places where Islam is the dominant religion, this means the entire cultural rhythm changes during the month of Ramadan. Restaurants and food shops close, business slows down to enable prayers, and fasting is expected and assumed. In a few places, Ramadan means a ratcheting up of violent attacks against Christians. The 2017 bus attack that killed at least 28 Egyptian Christians was conducted by ISIS, which specializes in terrorist attacks during Ramadan. Such extreme violence is rare, but it does happen. But for most Christians who live in Islamic regions, Ramadan simply brings increased cultural pressure—most Christians do not fast or pray during the specific times throughout Ramadan, and so they stick out. In some places, that means they are criticized or discriminated against. Their lack of participation in the surrounding cultural and religious customs makes them more noticeable— and believers are punished for it. Over the next 30 days of Ramadan, we have the opportunity to stand with 1 30 DAYS OF PRAYER DURING RAMADAN our brothers and sisters around the world in prayer—asking God to protect and bless believers living and worshiping in places where their faith in Jesus makes them stand out this month. We also have the opportunity to pray for Muslims; Ramadan is all about seeking after God, and so we ask that God will reveal His true self through Jesus to Muslims who are searching! And finally, we have the chance to remind fellow Christians they aren’t alone—that God has not left them and that He will give them the courage and boldness to stand for Him and His gospel. -
Prayer in Context: a Micro-Sociological Analysis of Religious Practice in a Catholic and an Islamic Devotional Movement
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2017 Prayer In Context: A Micro-Sociological Analysis Of Religious Practice In A Catholic And An Islamic Devotional Movement Christopher Stawski University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Stawski, Christopher, "Prayer In Context: A Micro-Sociological Analysis Of Religious Practice In A Catholic And An Islamic Devotional Movement" (2017). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2592. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2592 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2592 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Prayer In Context: A Micro-Sociological Analysis Of Religious Practice In A Catholic And An Islamic Devotional Movement Abstract This project aims to advance the study of prayer by analyzing it as a social interaction – on a human- divine as well as a human-human level - utilizing Randall Collins’s interaction ritual theory within a comparative framework articulated by Ann Taves to investigate religious experiences. Cases are presented to compare prayer practices in two contemporary devotional movements respectively inspired by Padre Pio (Padre Pio Prayer Groups) and Said Nursi (Nur Movement) that seek to develop the faith of their adherents as they negotiate living in secular contexts. Based on historical research, textual analysis, and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the United States, this project addresses how ritual context and habitual entrainment affect the prayer experiences and conceptions of adherents within these two movements while also offering generalizable knowledge about prayer applicable to other contexts. -
Intercede VOL
Intercede VOL. XXXVII, NO. 2 MARCH/APRIL 2020 Reflecting on Ramadan’s Jewish Roots By M. L. Rogers orgiveness of sins? I love that thought,” said Ahmed living in a place with extended daylight hours would be quite “Fas we sat enjoying our meal at a Midwestern diner. a test of self-denial. We had been talking about Ramadan, a month set aside for fasting in commemoration of Muhammad’s first revelations In addition to geographic challenges, Muslims who ob- from Allah. serve the fast encounter seasonal hardships. The Muslim calendar is based on a lunar year, which has roughly 354 During Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar, days. The month of Ramadan, therefore, shifts on the so- adherents of Islam fast from dawn until dusk. The Arabic lar calendar eleven days per year, causing it to fall on both word for fasting is sawm, which literally means “abstinence.” cooler and warmer seasons during various years. Because it Throughout the daylight hours of Ramadan, Muslims all takes about thirty-three years for Ramadan to pass through over the world abstain from food, drink, and sexual activi- the solar calendar, a Muslim will experience the spectrum of ty, as well as impure thoughts and words. The most devout seasons many times while fasting during his or her lifetime. Muslims may even avoid swallowing their saliva during this Needless to say, the longer days and the heat of the summer month of fasting. months make completing this fast quite difficult. Abstaining from all food and drink during daylight hours Conversely, the shorter days of winter bring sweet relief.