Religion in My Life: Islam / Turkiye

I’m Berke. My religion is Islam. Islam appeared over 1400 years ago in Mecca, Arabia. The followers of Islam are called Muslims and I’m a Muslim boy.

ALLAH

We, Muslims, believed that there is only one god. The name of our god is Allah. We believe in Allah and all the prophets such as Adam , Moses and Jesus.

QURAN

We believe in our holy book Quran. Quran was sent to the Muslims via one of Allah’s messengers Mohammed. He is the final prophet and We, Muslims, believe in him.

SHAHADAH

The basic statement of Islamic faith is “Shahadah” It means that Allah is the only god and that Mohammed is Allah’s prophet. A Muslim believes in this statement with his whole heart.

EZAN & SALAH

Ezan is a chant that is used to call Muslims to salah. Muslims perform salah five times each day. Allah ordered Muslims to pray five times a day.

MOSQUE

The sacred place of we , Muslims , is Mosque. A mosque is the worship place of a Muslim. It has one or more minarets. A minaret is a tall thin tower. A muezzin stands at the top of the tower and calls Muslim prayer.

PRAY

For us, lifting our hands up for praying before sleeping or eating or anytime we need is enough to be heard by Allah. We don’t need any other people or things to hope wishes from Allah.

KAABA

The holliest place for Muslims is The Kaaba. It is a cube building in Mecca . Allah told the Prophet Mohammed that he should use the Kaaba to do his worship.Muslims must go to Hajj at least once in their life if they can afford.

ZAKAT

In the eyes of God all people are equal in race, gender, poor or richness and one of the ways to keep that equality is giving ZAKAT for poor people. We, Muslims, give ZAKAT for people to help them . Zakat can be given as money or food. A rich Muslim has to pay to benefit the poor and the needy each year.

RAMADAN

Ramadan is one of the most important event in a Muslim's life. We, Muslims, fast during Ramadan. It lasts almost 30 days. We don’t eat or drink anything from dawn to night. After sunset , with the evening salah , we start to eat  a big dinner with our family.

EUD UL -FITR

After Ramadan, We celebrate the festival of Eid ul –Fitr. It lasts for three days. We dress up and visit our relatives and friends and gather candies and chocolate.

NOAH'S PUDDING DAY : ASHURE DAY

Ashure is a traditional Turkish dessert cooking in the Ashure month. It symbolizes the true friendship and unity among God’s people.
In this day, our mums prepare the huge amount of ashure and share with families , friends and neighbours by serving in the small bowls.
We , Muslims believe that the prophet Noah and his family mixed all the storage and cooked pudding after the great flood to save themselves from starving. Now , Noah’s pudding is called ashure.

THE BIRTHDAY OF 
THE PROPETH MOHAMMED

We , Muslims celebrate the birthday of the prophet Mohammed on 20 th April. We believe that our prophet Mohammed smells like a rose. So giving the rose is a custom to greet and hug all people. The prophet Mohammed says “Your smiling in your brother’s face is charity.

Aslı Altan Altundal, English Teacher of Türkkonut Emel Önal  Primary School/Turkiye