Being a Muslim is an overriding cultural feature that cuts across a large number of races and nationalities, but many have the same common traits of gender segregation, emphasis on cleanliness and the same schedule of life.
My Interpretation
During the ritual I observed at the mosque, I was able to notice how the ritual impacts society. The first distinction is that there was a clear line created between those who are members of the in-group and those who are not. While I was welcome to be there, I was clearly in the latter group. I was welcome to observe, but not to participate in, the rituals. The performance of the rituals allows on to become a member of the society.
It was interesting to see that elements of modern life have crept into the rituals, however. One example is that I observed younger members of the mosque texting outside of the prayer, during the socializing that goes on before and after the prayer sessions. Older men were less likely to do this. The younger men, however, were setting their own interpretation of the ritual. For them, it was reasonable that using technology as a tool was not a material alteration of the ritual. The use of phones and texting was simply an extension of the ritual, allowing it to take a different form. While there are ways in which the religious rituals encroach on modern life, this might represent a way in which modern life encroaches on the ritual. The phones went away, presumably turned off, during the actual prayer ritual. This to me highlights a separation between the strict religious ritual function and the social...
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