This practice can be very confusing to the onlooker because Muslims come from a variety of cultures: Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, Indonesian, Chinese, Western European, American. Any culture you can think of, Muslims come from and participate in.

Salam (Peace) Adriana, May Allah guide you, bless you, and reward you for your choice of Islam!  Please find part one of the answer to your question below. Find the second and final part at the link here. Let me respond to your questions one by one. First, I will answer your question about a Muslim leaving …

Why tardiness is not something seen in the most erudite of scholars, and why I don’t believe that it is religiously appropriate. And I maintain that view despite the prevalent disregard for time in some Muslim cultures.

Behaving how we are instructed in the Quran will help us build an unbreakable bond amongst Muslims, but Muslims must do their part first on the individual level, then on the community level, national level, then on the global level. We can’t achieve global unity if we don’t start with ourselves.

In our time and age, we need to be careful about what Islam is and what it isn’t. There are too many factors that may lead us astray. We either need to seek authentic Islamic knowledge or ask about our religion from moderate scholars.