Read about It. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 16 стр.

makes you aware of what you eat and how you dress. Islam felt natural                 My conversion has been hardest on my mother. One day, shortly
to me. It was like a good friend with whom I had a lot in common.              after I took shahada, my mother saw a book I was carrying, «Under-
       I used to be very aggressive. Now, I am more patient – and spiri-       standing Islam», and started yelling, «What do you need that for? It
tually fulfilled. Muslims pray five times a day. I strive for that, but it’s   goes against everything I believe.» In Islam, you’re not supposed to ar-
difficult in America, because our busy schedules don’t allow much time         gue with your parents, so I just told her, «Mom, this is natural to me.»
for religion. I usually pray three times a day, and I go to a mosque near      But I still haven’t worn the hijab in front of her. She also got upset a
my home in Long Island once or twice a week.                                   while back when she saw me wearing a necklace that said «Allahu ak-
       In prayer, Muslims stand and kneel at different times. Kneeling is      bar,» which means «Allah is great.» She told me not to wear it any-
the most vulnerable position; it’s very submissive. You feel an energy,        more. But now, she’s calmed down. I explained, «Mom, it’s just God’s
and it feels very pure. It’s your time with God.                               name. Only it’s spelled differently.»
       At the mosque, the people show a genuine openness to others –                                                 from MARIE CLAIRE (July, 2002)
the homeless, drug addicts, whoever. True Muslims do not force relig-
ion on anyone; they just listen and help. The media may say Islam is                 1. Look through the text and find the words which definitions
hostile toward other religions, but in fact, Muslims in the U.S. – and         are given below.
throughout the Arab world – are peaceful and accepting of all other                  1. unfriendly and aggressive;
faiths. The Koran proclaims, «God does not love aggressors.»                         2. to believe or say that someone is responsible for something
       All the negative feelings about Islam made me afraid to wear the        wrong or that they caused it;
hijab until just recently. I put it on briefly right after I converted, and          3. the basic testimony and creed of Islam;
people stared. One day, I wore it on the subway, and a woman scowled                 4. a large crowd of people;
at me as if I were a terrorist. I never saw any hijabs outside of the                5. to change one’s religious or political belief;
mosque. I figured either Muslim women weren’t wearing them, or they                  6. giving a false account of some facts.
just weren’t going out.
       Now, I notice a difference walking down the street in a hijab.                Following the patterns above try to define the words below
Without it, guys make comments. They are disrespectful. But when I             yourself:
wear it, they know I’m not available. Dating is prohibited, and mar-                 1. hijab       3. messenger           5. coworker
riages are arranged. But I’m seeing a Muslim guy. So I’m not going to                2. to suppress 4. intuition           6. sentiment
say I’m the perfect convert. I’m still figuring it out.
       It’s a misconception that women can’t be independent within Is-               2. Look through the text again & find the words with the nega-
lam. There are Muslim women with important jobs all around the                 tive meaning. Explain the way this meaning is expressed.
world. I want to teach psychology at the college level one day. I’ve
been to Muslim homes in which the man served me chocolates, making                    3. Look through the text again and give the English equivalents
tea with his wife. They were together, and they were unified.                  to the following phrases:
       Still, I sometimes think the men are a little spooky. I see the pic-           1. вставать и опускаться на колени одновременно,
tures of terrorists in the newspaper, and they look like ordinary Middle              2. молиться в тишине,
Eastern men. How do you know who’s crossed the line? When I meet a                    3. произносить клятвенное заверение,
Muslim man, I try to rely on my intuition – like any woman would. I                   4. обвинять религию в терроризме,
talk to him and ask him questions. And then, I trust my instincts.                    5. ничего не воодушевляло меня по-настоящему,

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