Culture & Religion
Religion Spotlight: Islam
By Zoha
What do you know about Islam?
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is no god but ALLAH and that Muhammad is a messenger of Allah. It is the world's second-largest religion with 1.8 billion followers, known as Muslims.
How do Muslims worship?
Muslims worship Allah by praying and reciting the Quran. They pray five times a day, but the most important prayer of the week is “jumah,” or the day of gathering, on Friday.
What is forbidden (haram) in Islam religion?
The religious term “haram” applies to actions, such as cursing, murder, and disrespecting your parents. It includes not eating pork or drinking alcohol.
Can Muslims keep cats?
In Islamic tradition, cats are thought to be ritually clean and are allowed to enter homes and even mosques, including Masjid al-Haram.
Can Muslims touch dogs?
Restriction of dogs in the home is based on the badith which says: "Angels do not enter a house which has a dog or picture in it.”
What are the five pillars of Islam?
The Five Pillars of Islam
Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that "There is no god but ALLAH and Muhammad is the Messenger of ALLAH " is central to Islam.
Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark.
Alms (zakat). Take care of those in need as in giving money to the poor.
Fasting (sawm). Not eating for a specific time.
Pilgrimage (hajj). Traveling to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. (The hajj was cancelled for part of this year due to the pandemic.)
Culture Spotlight: Yemen
Yemen Article
By Maram
What do you know about Yemen?
You can find Yemen at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, which is a part of Western Asia. Even though it is a beautiful country, Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. More than 80 percent of the people there live in poverty. Yemen's official language is Arabic.
Yemen is where I am originally from, and there is more to Yemen than meets the eye. Yemen is the origin of all Arabs.
The Capital of Yemen is Sanaa, which is 2,500 years old. Yemen is a beautiful place to live. Unfortunately, Yemen has a history of war. The war of the Yemeni Civil War started on March 22, 2015. Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi began the war in late 2014. There is a lot of war in Yemen because of the Houthi.
In Yemen, Women wear a hijab, Balto. Men frequently wear a thawb, Zena, futa, and a big black cloth. On their heads, they wear a head cloth called mshedda.
In Yemen, people eat Aseed, Saltah, Maraq, Bint Al Sahn and more. Aseed is a dish with Maraq. It's really good and has a good flavor in it. Saltah is famous in Yemen. Saltah is mostly served at lunch. It comes with brown meat soup called Maraq, potatoes, and vegetables. Maraq is a broth and soup with meat inside the soup. It has nice and good flavors. Bint Al Sahn is a Yemeni Sweet Dish and produced with dough. The dough is made with white flour, eggs, yeast, and butter for the samn. Also when it is done, you drizzle some honey on it.
Would you rather stay in Yemen or stay in the USA?
I would rather stay in the USA because in Yemen there is war there and I don't want to die. Living in the USA is really fun and there is more education here than in Yemen. There is not much education there to learn.