This week Year Two had two special visitors. They came from Newcastle Central Mosque to teach the boys and girls all about life as a Muslim. The children found out that Muslims believe that we are all brothers and sisters and that we should therefore treat everyone with respect.
First, the children learned about how the birth of a baby is celebrated by Muslims. They learned that the first words a Muslim baby ever hears is the call to prayer and it is whispered into the baby’s right ear as soon as they are born. They also found out that seven days after the baby is born its hair is shaved and weighed. The family then donate the weight of the hair in gold to charity. They give thanks to Allah for the birth of the child and have a feat to celebrate. This is called the Aqeeqah.
The next thing the children learned about was how Muslims celebrate marriage. They found out that for Muslims the whole family is involved in the decision about who someone will marry. The boys and girls also found out that Muslim men give their brides gold or money before the wedding as a gift. The children were very surprised to hear that Muslim men are not allowed to wear gold and therefore their wedding rings are usually made of silver or steel.
After that our visitors showed the children how Muslims pray. Did you know that Muslims try to pray five times a day? The children then learned about how Muslims wash before they pray and pray on special prayer mats. The boys and girls also got to see the Muslim holy book called the Koran and they found out that because it is written in Arabic it is read from right to left. Year Two really enjoyed finding out all about the Islamic faith and learned a lot from their visitors.
