The Eid- Prayer

On last Monday Muslims all over the world celebrated  a special religious day, namely Eid ul- adha. At that day Muslims remember the history of Abraham and his son Ishmael and how Abraham was supposed to sacrifice his son, but finally ended up sacrificing a sheep instead. Muslims are supposed to go to the mosque on Eid ul- adha and have a special prayer, which is called Eid- Prayer.

Me, a few other students and Dr. Noor went to the Islamic Center of San Antonio in order to honor this day and to accomplish our prayer. This was the first time, that I celebrated Eid ul- adha in an other country and additionally without my family, but all sadness had suddenly flown  away, when I saw the huge mosque in front of me. I have never seen such a nice and huge mosque before, because in Germany we often have small mosques or mosques, which are located in cellars or flats. What surprised me too was the Muslim community in Texas and its seize. I must admit that I have always assumed, that the Muslim community in Texas must be small, due to the fact, that Texas is pretty conservative. Here I have seen once more that my prejudices about Texas were more that just wrong. Although I am aware that probably a large part of Texas  is quite conservative, San Antonio in my opinion is not. What I liked most about the prayer was the gathering of different people from different cultural backgrounds.  It is nice to see how region may unify so many and besides different people, it is absolutely amazing. I am not used to the imagery of such a diverse community. In Germany mosques are often separated in ethnic groups and therefore you just stick in your own group, which is actually very sad. I do believe that cultural exchange is an enrichment for everyone and may avoid many unnecessary conflicts.