Description of Challenge
Gathering people in collective Islamic religious ritual.Its a compulsory ritual for Muslim men to gather in noon time and pray togther the Friday praying in public.
Solution
Praying is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims pray five times a day. One of the prayers is called ‘duhr’ noon prayer. On Fridays Muslim men are ordered in The Quran to gather together in public for this noon prayer. The Friday prayer is preceded by a sermon given by a Muslim scholar. The idea of Friday prayer is not only the regular daily prayers, but it also provides an opportunity for Muslims to gather together weekly in order to discuss their important life issues.
Listening to this weekly sermon is considered to develop a continuous connection and feeding of the spirituality.
Friday prayer is recommended to be shared in a big mosque and, in case of a village or a neighborhood, there should be one Friday prayer. This complements the idea of gathering as many people as possible together in one ritual as a collective religious act.
It also allows a chance for collective wisdom when people discuss their life issues both in the sermon and in socializing after the prayers.
In Friday prayers Muslims stand side by side to pray, regardless of their social or economic status.
It is remarkable to witness that, during the Jan 25 revolution in Egypt, Muslims used to share their Fridays prayers during their stand in the revolution squares (the most famous of which is Tahrir Square). Christians stood aside during prayers and they even protected Muslims from any violence during prayer time.
