BY ELEANOR EVANS
THE DAILY NEWS
 A MESSAGE OF PEACE — Jehad Mahmoud, President of the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge, shares the beliefs and customs of the Islamic faith with members of the Franklinton Rotary Club at Centenary United Methodist Church yesterday. Advertisement |
Mahmoud, who serves as president of the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge, spoke to the Rotarians yesterday to provide a brief lesson on the foundations of the Islamic faith n and in hopes of putting common myths and misconceptions of the faith to rest.
"If I talk about Islam, I'll be talking about Christianity, I'll be talking about Judaism…" Mahmoud said. "We are all the same."
The common foundation of all theistic religions, Mahmoud said, is the belief in a universal creator.
That creator sent many prophets - including Jesus, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Mohammed n to share the word of God to His people, Mahmoud said.
And those people came from many origins, he added.
"The color of my skin wasn't my choice," Mahmoud said. "It was the choice of The Creator."
Mahmoud compared the different faiths and races to "roses in a garden…If all roses are one color, it is beautiful," he said, "but if there are different colors, it is more beautiful…you'll want to stay in the garden longer.
The core message of Islam, Mahmoud said, is to believe in only one God. The Islamic faith also holds that God has created angels out of life, sending them as messengers n including the aforementioned prophets.
Those in the faith also believe that "everything is predestined," and that as a result, "we do not grieve through mishaps." They believe everything has happened for a reason, he said, and in spite of whatever circumstances the believer might face, he must say, "I'm happy with what the Lord has asked me to do," Mahmoud said.
Those in the faith also believe in a heaven and hell, but are unsure of the concept of heaven.
Mahmoud also addressed a misconception sparked from radical Muslims that eternal salvation is guaranteed by killing an infidel. "No one can be assured he is going to Heaven," and it is considered a blasphemy to state that belief. "The only way for any person to get to Heaven is through God himself."
In addition, Muslims are taught that anyone who commits suicide "will stay in Hellfire for eternity, committing suicide."
Mahmoud also said he has been hurt by many Arabs, Muslims, Christians and Jews "massacring the word ‘Allah.'"
The name, Mahmoud said, is Arabic for "God."
"It hurts me [when people] want to say, ‘We want to kill your Allah.' He is my god; he is your God," Mahmoud said.
Muslims also are required to pray five times a day n once in the early morning, once at noon, once in the afternoon, once in early evening and once in the late evening.
"We pray in congregation, with the men in front, and the women in back," Mahmoud explained.
However, it is not because women are seen as inferior to men, he said, but instead it is "out of respect and protection." Because Muslims kneel to the ground during prayer, and "men have weak hearts," the men must always pray in front of the women.
In addition, men cannot "expose anything between the belly button and knees, and women can only expose their hands and face. However, the Muslim dress code is a choice, he said, adding that he's even heard of Muslims who have attended nudist camps.
More information on the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge can be found at its website,
www.webrouge.com/icbr.
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