Islam Tiyul:  Visit to Ein Rafa

by Ayli Stabinsky,     11^th grade,     Phoenix

Islam has faced much criticism and scrutiny based on stigma and preconceived ideas of the religion that do not apply to most of its followers.  In today’s political climate within Israel, and within Western Civilization as well, our Muslim brothers and sisters are not always treated with compassion or understanding.  I feel that the trip I embarked on with my classmates recently opened our eyes to all the misconceptions and bias, and how much more there still is for us to learn about Islam.  My goal in writing this blog is to first, share my experiences, feelings, and thoughts on the lives of Muslims in Eretz Yisrael, and second, hopefully put to rest any lingering stereotypes or negative thoughts on Islam a reader may have in their head.

The view from the village of Ein Rafa, close to our school at Kibbutz Tzuba

A look at the interior of the domed ceiling of the mosque in Ein Rafa

Islam was born in the early 7^th century, and began to blossom, grow, and spread rapidly during this time.  In the year 570, Muhammed was born in Mecca, Arabia (which later becomes the most holy site in the entire Islam religion).   Muhammed was raised in the powerful Bedouin tribe, Quryash, and there he became a wealthy and successful trader.  Muhammed admired the monotheistic idea of one God in Christian and Jewish beliefs, so he attempted to bring monotheism to Bedouins.  In 610, Muhammed had his first revelation with arch-angel, Gabriel, and for the 12 years after this revelation, he preaches his ideas to the people of Mecca.  The year 620 is monumental in Islamic History and significant to the religion of Islam.  This is the year of Hijra, when Muhammed and his followers fled to Medina, this is also the first year of the Islamic Calendar.  In 630 Muhammad succeeded in uniting all the Bedouin tribes of the region, Muslims captured Mecca and tribes of Arabia vowed allegiance to Muhammed and his religion.  632 is the year of Muhammad’s death, this is also the year that sparked the schism that resulted in the creation of Sunni Islam and Shia Islam.  Muhammad’s lack of specificity on who would be his successor led to disputes.  Sunnis believe that Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father in law, was the rightful successor of Muhammad, and that Muhammad wanted the elite members of the Muslim community to choose the Caliph.  Shias believe Muhammad would have told them only God can choose the successor, and this was only possible by keeping things in the family.  They believe that the rightful successor to Muhammad was Muhammad’s cousin, Ali Ibn Abi Talib.  The fundamental differences in these two sects’ opinions have caused centuries of conflict, battles, and discrimination between the two groups.  Today Shias and Sunnis do have differences in regard to practice, traditions, customs, and the teachings of Muhammad, but all Muslim groups consider the Quran (the holiest text in Islam, believed to be God’s word spoken to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel) to be divine and to supersede the Torah and Christian Bible. Around 80-85% of all Muslims are Sunni Muslims, however, Shias make up the majority of the Muslim population of Iran and Iraq.

My classmate Lillian getting ready to depart for our tiyul to Ein Rafa

shelf for placing your shoes at the entrance to the mosque in Ein Rafa

            Muhammad is not the only prophet in Islam, in fact, Muslims believe in some of the same prophets that are present in both Judaism and Christianity, such as Moses, Jacob, Jesus, etc.  they recognize these figures as prophets, because they preached submission.  Islam translates to “Submission to God” and Muslim translates to “One who submits to God”.  The submission to God and the acceptance of Allah as the one and only God is one of the most important pillars of Islam, and following the acknowledgement of Allah’s oneness, the belief I Muhammad’s prophethood is the principal concept of Islam.  Muhammad is the final prophet; no other messenger or miracle will be sent from God again in Islamic belief.  I cannot relate the significance of any Jewish leader or figure in our faith to the influence, importance, and essentialness of Muhammad in Islam.

Heller High students inside the Ein Rafa mosque listening to our speaker Yasmin

            Today we visited Ein Rafa, an Arab village near Jerusalem.  We had the opportunity to walk around there, look at their homes, and to experience entering their Mosque.  When entering the Mosque, the women must be covered down to their wrists and ankles, we also had to wear a head scarf to cover our hair and neck.  We all removed our shoes to make our way to the top floor (which is where their prayer takes place).  Even though we weren’t attending a prayer service, our male classmates sat in the front and the girls all sat in the back, because of the Muslim custom.  This frustrated me, because I felt as if the boys had more of a right to be there or that our learning was not as important.  Coming from my reform background, it felt odd having to sit separated from the boys, but it was interesting and relevant comparing the segregation in the Mosque to that of Orthodox Synagogues, or The Western Wall.  The inside of the Mosque was very plain in decoration.  There were no chairs inside, because during Muslim ritual prayer it is tradition to bow all the way down to the floor for Allah (as a physical sign of submission).  Much like the Jews, Jerusalem is a holy city for Muslims. 

Heller High students dressed appropriately for entering a mosque

The 3 most holy places in Islam are: Mecca, (where every Muslim must make a pilgrimage to within their lifetime, if they have the monetary, and physical means to do so) Medina, and Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is considered a sacred site for in Islamic tradition, because previous prophets are associated with the city, and because Jerusalem is where the Dome of the Rock is located.   The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine built on the Temple Mount on Mount Moriah, this is the place in which the binding of Ishmael occurred (in Judaism it is the binding of Isaac), this is also where it is believed Muhammad led other prophets in prayer. He then ascended to the heavens, speaking to God afterwards. The remembrance of this journey is one of the most significant events in the Islamic calendar, and this location is one of the most significant locations in Islam.

our guide Musa explained that this is a newer and larger house built in the village  

            In my opinion, the most worthwhile moment of this tiyul was being welcomed into Yasmin’s home for a home cooked, Arab lunch, and asking her various questions relating to Islam.  Yasmin was raised in a completely secular household in England and her parents had no religious ideologies to teach or pass down to her.  Yasmin traveled to Jerusalem while studying for her degree; this pivotal moment in Yasmin’s life sparked her religious journey.  Yasmin explored all sects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam during the early time she spent here in Israel.  Yasmin went to an Ulpan and began to pick up Hebrew.  She returned to England, thinking she would carry on with her previous, nonreligious lifestyle.  The three years Yasmin spent in England after her peregrination in Jerusalem, were the years she realized the connection she felt to Islam, and the years she spent learning Arabic.  Yasmin converted to Islam, moved back to Jerusalem, and eventually married her husband, whom she had met while working in Jerusalem during her initial trip.  Yasmin has resided in Israel for about 15 years.  She and her husband were gracious enough to give us a tour of Ein Rafa and prepare a traditional meal for us.  Asking Yasmin questions was helpful and offered us first hand insight into the life of Muslims.

“DO YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN BE MUSLIM BUT NOT BELIEVE IN GOD?”

 “No. because the fundamental belief in islam is the belief in one god, and one god alone. That’s the fundamentals of it. So if you deny the belief in god, then you deny everything.”

This ideology was foreign to me.  Judaism is a religion that has a very strong cultural aspect.  I know many Jews that identify as “Cultural Jews” or people that do not believe in God, but still identify as Jewish.  Even some rabbis question the belief in God at times.  This concept that Yasmin explained is simply not a belief we share, because I believe an individual can be Atheist, but still be a Jew.

“As a Muslim woman do you wish you had more rights within the religion?”

“well, I as a woman believe I should have more rights in this world.”

My classmates and I started laughing and snapping in agreement with her witty comment.  As part of her answer she gave us an example of how Islam is a feminist religion.  She told the story of the prophet Muhammad’s wife, Hadija. Yasmin said:

“Hadija is just a brilliant example for all of us women of someone who stood up for her rights, had control of her life, had influence, and didn’t take into account what other people thought she needed to do in order to be right”

I had never heard anyone speak of Islam as a feminist religion, and I certainly was not expecting a woman that is immersed in Muslim culture and society to feel as if she had rights in the religion.  perhaps I thought this way because of how Muslim women are presented in media and Western bias.

“I believe that any Muslim woman that really knows what Hijab means would choose to wear it”

“Is there meaning behind the Hijab or headcover?”

“The hijab is to kind of put a veil. It is not about cutting yourself out of society, which is how it is often interpreted. It’s actually covering yourself in order to take part in society as a woman. We actually have a hijab to cover up men as well, but a hijab for men is less physically visible.  For instance, they don’t wear a head scarf, but a Muslim man who is religious doesn’t look at a woman.  The instruction for a man is to ignore it with eye contact, and then look at the floor when talking to a woman, not many Muslim men do that, but it is the instruction for them.  The reason that we cover up more of our physical bodies is because we are the more attractive sex, but it is also very much connected to your spiritual situation, your commitment to your religion.  It is a direct instruction from God so lots of women wear Hijab… There is also this whole idea of modesty, which is very much similar to Judaism, why women cover up. And then there is this whole thing to do with: how do you stand up to a very male dominated world 1400 years ago where all decisions are made without any consultation to women, women are viewed as objects by itself, and baby girls are being buried alive because the people would much rather have sons. How do you bring women into the public sphere? Actually covering them up made life a lot more safe for them, because they were sexually harassed all the time, and that still happens in many Muslim countries today, it also happens in America today.  The thing with Hijab is, it’s supposed to be empowering to women, not supposed to be something to make them feel submissive”

I did not have any knowledge or background on the historical reasons that Muslim women wear Hijabs prior to this tiyul.  It is incredible that Yasmin has found empowerment and strength through wearing her Hijab, but after hearing her explanation, I felt it contradicted her belief that Islam is a feminist religion.  The fact that men are instructed to look at the ground when interacting with women is ridiculous to me, and the fact that women still wear Hijabs to prevent sexual assault is saddening.  If Reform Judaism preached ideas supporting or adding to rape culture, or that men should never lay eyes on women, I would never connect to Judaism and would resist that ideology.  However, if the Muslim women that dress in Hijab have no problems wearing them and feel safe, strong, and powerful in their headscarves, I support their choice to wear them 100%.

Yasmin shared the reasons she converted to Islam, and the negativity she faced after her decision. Many people close to Yasmin did not understand or appreciate the idea of her conversion.  Many people have ignorant views of Islam based on what is depicted and portrayed on the news and media.  

An important piece of advice Yasmin shared with the URJ Heller High (formerly NFTY-EIE) community is as follows:

“Don’t look to Muslims to understand Islam, because the actions of many Muslims are not that Islamic.  They may be Muslim by birth and not practice, or they may have been taught Islam in a wrong way that may be more cultural than religion.  if you want to really understand Islam, go to the source of Islam, which would be in the Quran, the Sunna, or the Hadid. Once you know from that source what Islam is about, you are in a much more informed position to judge how the media portrays Islam, and it will be much more easy to understand how most Muslims reject the terrorist or extremist versions.”

With this information, I feel I can now be an advocate for just treatment of Muslims, and debunk any falsehoods or stereotypes someone may bring up.  This tiyul was remarkable.  I learned an incredible amount in such a short period of time.  I learned about parts of Islam that I find really rad, and was also able to form educated opinions on some aspects I do not agree with in Islam tradition.  Jerusalem is such a beautiful, magical, spiritual, and significant place to so many diverse peoples and religions.  I am so very lucky and grateful to have the opportunity to live here; being so close to holy sites for so many different religions and cultures allows me to learn and experience the beauty in diversity first hand.

we were served majadara for lunch, a yummy traditional dish of rice, lentils, and spices