While I can understand using Arabic terms and phrases if you speak Arabic, I don’t think Muslims who do this around American converts realize how alienating this can be. Not only do we not know what is being said, which makes us feel like outsiders, but we feel strange using the words ourselves, especially at first. I’m always torn between wanting to express myself in my own language and feeling like I should use the [...]
Lesley Hazelton describes her experience of reading the Qur’an for real, for the first time:
One of the greatest challenges for the Western convert to Islam is learning Arabic. I only know my basic prayers (and I have no idea if I’m saying them right) and a few phrases. Plus I’m somewhat familiar with the alphabet. I was blessed with a wonderful teacher for awhile, but we didn’t meet consistently and I’m not the best student in the world. I keep thinking there ought to be an easier way to [...]