New York, 5 Dzulhijjah 1434/11 October 2013 (MINA) – Offering US Muslims students a rare spiritual experience, an American Islamic school has hosted a simulated hajj journey to educate students on the life-time journey.
“Congratulations, You’ve just arrived in the holy city of Makkah,” Mahmoud Gomaa, vice principal of the American Youth Academy, told students of First graders standing under a model airplane, Onislam quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
The event, at which older students built simulated Makka’s buildings and mountains, aimed at presenting the fifth pillar of Islam to Muslim students.
Gathered in a large room, Gomaa told about 400 students that they were in a safe place, asking them to get cleaned and put on simulated hajj cloths.
Read Also: Megawati Hangestri Is Top Scorer; Hyundai Hillstate vs. Hi-Pass Ends 0-3
Afterwards, students were asked to lay under a tint to feel the experience of Muslim pilgrims when they arrive in Mina.
During the activity, Layalee Ahmad, an 8-year student, pointed to Mount Arafat and joined colleagues who stoned a simulated place of Satan.
Students also made simulated Udhiya and circled the Ka`bah ‘Tawaf’.
“The prophet put it there when he and his son were building the ka’bah,” Layalee said.
Read Also: Abdul El-Sayed to Be First US Senator Sworn In on a Quran
Tracking Hager’s steps, students end their day by Arafat and drinking Zamzam water.
This is the sixth year the academy organized the hajj stimulation to familiarize students with the rite.
Muslims from around the world pour to Makkah every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, which will started on Tuesday, October 14.
Hajj consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Read Also: US Federal Lifts Nationwide Flight Ground Stop After Telecommunications Outage
Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.
Preserving Identity
Hosting non-Muslim students, hajj stimulation offered young Muslim children a unique compromise between their identity and people of other faiths.
“Outside our gates, we’re a minority,” Gomaa said.
Read Also: Twelve US Senators Seek Removal of Provisions Expanding Israel Defense Ties
“The best way is to open our doors so they will see and hear and then they will get the right message,” he added while explaining that many people still have little knowledge about Islam.
Dubbed as a ‘mother’ to the school, kindergarten teacher June Page praised the hajj simulation and said that students were very ‘excited’ to perform rituals.
Page, a non-Muslim, started working at the school in 1996. She also served as school principal for seven months at a hard time when there no money for salaries and most students quit.
Co-founded in 1992 by the University of South Florida’s professor Sami Al-Arian, the school faced charges of raising money for Palestinians in 2003.
Read Also: El-Sayed Launches ‘Habibi PAC’ After US Senate Victory
In the next years, American Youth Academy opened the new property.
This year the school became a candidate of International Baccalaureate program.
US Muslims, estimated at between seven to eight million.
A US survey had also revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.
Read Also: Rights Group to Urge ICC to Seek Arrest Warrants for Trump Over Gaza
Hajj is officially expected to fall between October 13 and 18, with the climax falling on October 14 when the faithful descend the Mount `Arafat.
` Eid Al Adha will start on Tuesday, October 15, according to Saudi Islamic Justice authorities. (T/P013/E1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Read Also: Trump Warns Iran Could Face Destruction, Says ‘You’ll Know Soon Enough’
Mina Indonesia
Mina Arabic
Mina Sport