I've been away to a foreign land last week. It's my first experience overseas where muslims is a minority. The culture, language, habits, and weather are totally different with my country but I could adapt with hard efforts.
What tortures methe most is the difficulty to do my 5 prayers. In Indonesia, every floor at my office is equipped with a place to pray for women and men separetely...and to get wudhu (water for cleaning physical certain parts of the body before prayer) is easy. Here, the tolerance for other religions is good...in fact better than western countries but it's so hard to find the place for prayer. The nearest mosque located at the Turkey Embassy which was impossible for me to go there every praying time. To get wudhu, I had to go to the rest room...I could not stand being stared at or looked at this public facility...they did not make any objection but I just felt so awkward. Not to mention that I could not totally wash my feet at this room which made me feel so uneasy when praying. It's a luxury I could not get in this country :-(.
Often, I had to perform the prayer at the car and the train because my colleagues insisted that we should go at hours when prayers time was in due. It's not that difficult to pray in the car but the story was different when i was in the train. My two colleagues were males and I could not choose the seat with women...meanwhile we had to travel all day by the train...So, again I felt this awkward and odd feeling when i performed my prayer with some people sometimes stared and looked at my direction....perhaps they were curious...luckily, the pople here were mind their own business and did not have any religious prejudice...
Somehow, I felt like a stranger here when they took me out...being the only person wearing headscarft at the building...people at office were kind and good but I still felt like a total stranger in this country. Now, I could feel what it felt to be a muslim in a non muslim country. And all i could say is THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.
I am so glad yesterday, i safely arrived at home...feeling as stranger no more...and praying normally ...Alhamdulillah :-)
What tortures methe most is the difficulty to do my 5 prayers. In Indonesia, every floor at my office is equipped with a place to pray for women and men separetely...and to get wudhu (water for cleaning physical certain parts of the body before prayer) is easy. Here, the tolerance for other religions is good...in fact better than western countries but it's so hard to find the place for prayer. The nearest mosque located at the Turkey Embassy which was impossible for me to go there every praying time. To get wudhu, I had to go to the rest room...I could not stand being stared at or looked at this public facility...they did not make any objection but I just felt so awkward. Not to mention that I could not totally wash my feet at this room which made me feel so uneasy when praying. It's a luxury I could not get in this country :-(.
Often, I had to perform the prayer at the car and the train because my colleagues insisted that we should go at hours when prayers time was in due. It's not that difficult to pray in the car but the story was different when i was in the train. My two colleagues were males and I could not choose the seat with women...meanwhile we had to travel all day by the train...So, again I felt this awkward and odd feeling when i performed my prayer with some people sometimes stared and looked at my direction....perhaps they were curious...luckily, the pople here were mind their own business and did not have any religious prejudice...
Somehow, I felt like a stranger here when they took me out...being the only person wearing headscarft at the building...people at office were kind and good but I still felt like a total stranger in this country. Now, I could feel what it felt to be a muslim in a non muslim country. And all i could say is THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.
I am so glad yesterday, i safely arrived at home...feeling as stranger no more...and praying normally ...Alhamdulillah :-)
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