Sydney, 5 May 2017
So, today is Friday, and I used to go to mosque for jummah prayer every Friday afternoon. I don't really remember when the last time I went to mosque to have jummah prayer. Sometimes I went to mosque when my friend asked me to go together. But I prefer not to go since I don't feel right to attend jummah prayer. I went just because I felt uneasy to reject their invitation. I was concern if they would label me as a bad guy if I didn't go to mosque.
Probably since I was in high school, I always felt uncomfortable with the jummah khutbah (speech). Mostly (but not always), the content of khutbah is about hating, discriminating, and judging other religions or groups of people. Sometimes, the imam (priest) speaks the hate speech very furiously and loudly till my ears hurt. It was not only my ears that hurt, but also was my heart. I just don't feel right if my religion always put prejudice towards other religions, as if there is evilly conspiracy if they want to destroy Islam. And the accuses towards other religions are clearly stated in the Quran. If I were a Christian, Jewish, or infidel, I would be very insulted to be vilified like that.
Another thing that makes me hesitate to go to jummah prayer is that the people become so selfish and individualistic when they are having jummah prayer. The number of people who come to jummah prayer is usually a lot until the mosque is not capable to accommodate all of them. Here, the competition starts between them. They just want to save a spot for their own and they don't care about others. When the prayer time has come, they push the crowd competing to get a spot for their own. They don't care to the guy who stands outside under the heat of the midday sun or under the pouring rain. They don't care if the guy does not get a proper spot to pray. They just want to worship their god, but they forget the essence of their prayer already.
I always saw this situation over and over again every Friday and made me so sick and disappointed. I know that the mosque capacity is not sufficient to accommodate all the people. But what I want to emphasise here is at least they have a little bit of empathy by not rushing and pushing selfishly. They actually could make the lines orderly if they care and look up to others.
