Interview on September 9, 2024 with Takwa, who is studying plant science, and Bohaita, who is studying human biology and political science, on the Quad outside the Campus Center at Bakersfield College.
Do you consider yourself religious?
Takwa: Yeah. It influences the way I act, the way I work. Everything. Every aspect of my life.
Bohaita: I would say the same thing. Also, the way we dress and pray. As Muslims, we pray five times a day.
Do you schedule your classes around your prayer times?
Bohaita: We don’t really schedule around our prayer because our prayer times differ. It’s not always the same time.
Takwa: They all have a good window of time. It’s not exactly at twelve o’clock. For the second one you have three hours open, or two? There’s a time when it’s the time to start for the prayer. But you have, if you’re busy, a window of time.
Bohaita: But if you’re not busy, it’s better to pray it on time.
Why do you think there’s a God? Why do you believe in God?
Takwa: Because when I read the Quran, our book, I see signs and I believe that the things that it talks about have been true. For example, it talks about how the baby forms in the stomach, the steps which now the science agrees with. And a lot of other stuff about the ear. This is the science side. But also the language side. And everything that it calls for is good.
Bohaita: I also would agree. I believe in it because we have a purpose here in this life and I believe there is a hereafter. We were not just put into this world, without a God. Who put us here, would be the question.
Do you think there’s evidence for the existence of God?
Bohaita: For us Muslims, we believe in the Quran, which is our holy book. And if you were to read it, you would see there is a lot of science.
How does your moral code help you decide if abortion is right or wrong?
Bohaita: In my opinion and also I think how religion would view it is it’s wrong if there’s no purpose behind abortion. Like if they want to have an abortion just because they don’t want to have the kid, or it was a mistake or accident, I would say it’s wrong. But if it was rape, it’s probably okay, but it also depends on how long they’ve been pregnant. You can’t just have abortion and the kid is already developed, only if it’s not humanly formed or doesn’t have a heartbeat. I think in our religion, that if it’s not developed, you probably can. But only if you’re raped. But if it’s already a human being, then I don’t think you could have an abortion because that’s a human life.
Takwa: I feel like not unless there’s a health issue and if the baby is not developed. But when it’s already developed, only if it’s a health risk. I don’t believe in just killing the baby. I think it’s okay in the first 40 days, maybe.
Does it make sense to say it’s wrong to kill more-developed human beings and fine to kill less-developed human beings?
Takwa: No, I think no.
Bohaita: No. But if it’s not formed yet, because sometimes it’s just the sperm cell. And let’s say the situation was a rape situation and it wasn’t by choice. Would you say that she can’t have abortion?
If it’s just a sperm cell then fertilization hasn’t happened, but once the sperm and egg join, then biologically there is a new human being.
Bohaita: Once they have that, I do think that’s wrong. But if it’s a sperm cell and it hasn’t developed yet, then I would say it’s okay.
If a biological male identifies as a woman, is that person a woman?
Takwa: Our religion is similar to Christianity. We can’t say it’s a woman. You can’t change who you are.
Bohaita: Whatever you’re born with, that’s who you are. Even if you go through the transgender whole thing, you’re still the same person.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
Takwa: It’s similar to the Christian view. If you believe in God and you do good, you go to heaven. If you don’t believe in God and don’t do good, then hell. Similar. It’s one of the fundamentals of Islam. To be a Muslim, you need to believe in the afterlife.
Bohaita: I would say the same thing because like we were brought into this life for a reason. You are not just for here and not an afterlife.
How do you know if you’re doing good or you’re doing wrong?
Bohaita: For us Muslims, there’s a lot of stuff in the Quran that says praying is something that you’re doing good. Being respectful to your parents and others, not sinning. We don’t drink. For us, that’s a sin. We don’t eat pork. That’s a sin. If you’re doing those things, it’s not like you’re not going to heaven, but you’re going a different direction. But for us, most important is praying five times a day. If you don’t pray five times a day, then you can’t really consider yourself a Muslim.
For converts, it’s understandable, they’re barely learning and stuff. But if you’re born as a Muslim and you don’t do it, then you’re not really considered a Muslim. Because most important for us is praying five times a day. That’s our number one rule. If you pray five times a day and you pray it correctly, everything after it comes very easily and you go through the straight path.
Examples of how Pope Francis is right that all religions are paths to God.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Who cares what Muslims do.
As long as you’re a good person, the way you worship or where you worship or if you worship doesn’t matter. You can worship God through nature. Lots of young people connect to God that way by hiking or water sports or skiing or watching a sunrise. It doesn’t have to be in a church or a mosque or a synagogue. You can worship God by appreciating a good movie. You can worship God by being in frenzied union with your fellow fangoers at a sporting event. God made everything, everything is good, everything can be a means of praising God. To say it’s just one way only is to say that only one thing is good when in reality all is good. I say hooray for everything, not just for one thing.
“You can worship God by being in frenzied union with your fellow fangoers at a sporting event.” And I suppose a good supply of beer would enhance this worship experience. I suspect this individual is so enamored by life (“hooray for everything”) that in fact no worship of God is either required or even to be desired. Go to a movie instead
OK, thanks, Mr. Sarcastic.
There are things to be admired about these two: praying 5 times a day and seeing religion as affecting every facet of life. One does not often hear Catholic students seeing religious faith as all-encompassing. Yet there is a great deal of legalism as well. Dietary restrictions for one. Once you allow that eating pork is a sin, you open the door to legalism elsewhere. Thus I am wondering about their view of prayer. We read: ” If you don’t pray five times a day, then you can’t really consider yourself a Muslim.” It is hard to find grace with such a rule. The apostle Paul in Romans and Galatians contrasts law and gospel and anathematizes anyone introducing legalism into the grace of the gospel. Paul is of the mind that no one can be saved by the “works of the law,” which I hold to be ceremonial requirements like circumcision and dietary restrictions and Pharisaical applications of the moral law like those condemned by Jesus. Islam does not seem to comprehend the gracious nature of faith and the forgiveness offered by Jesus through the cross. The only alternative is some form of legalism, and I think we see it here.
Why would this story even be here? Islam does NOT believe Jesus Christ is The Lord God and Son of God merely a prophet. Islam has been at war with Christianity for over 1000 years, founded by a war lord who killed by the sword or had his enemies convert, it’s a death cult by any sense of the imagination that condsiders women as nothing more than a “thing” good only for producing babies and nothing more, so who cares about what Muslim students think. I’m scratching my head as to why this article is on a Catholic website????
IMHO:
The comments from the Muslim students are far more cogent and intelligible (agree or not) than the remarks of 95% of the so-called Catholic students in this series.
Bishop Richard Rohr has written about higher consciousness that sees Christ universally in everything and in everyone. He preaches a very inclusive spirituality. He’s also spoken at the Anaheim Congress.