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Religious Customs

The essence of Islam is the belief that there is only one God and that it is the people's duty to believe in and serve Him in the manner that He has laid out in the Koran. In Arabic, Islam means submission and a Muslim is one who submits to God's will.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and one-and-a-half hours after sunset. During prayers, a Muslim must perform a series of prostrations while facing in the direction of Mecca. Before a Muslim can pray, he must perform a series of ritual ablutions to cleanse himself. A prayer rug is unfolded and laid on the ground. It is not unusual to see a Muslim unfold his rug anywhere and prostrate himself in public. You should never step on a prayer mat on which someone is praying, nor walk in front of him. Never photograph someone who is praying, and do not enter a mosque unless invited. If visiting with permission, remove your shoes before going in and speak in whispers.

In addition, Muslims must follow Islamic law. They are forbidden to eat or drink anything containing alcohol, pork, blood or the meat of an animal that has died of natural causes. Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men, though Muslim men are permitted to marry Christian or Jewish women.

Holidays
Arabs have several different religious holidays:

Ramadan – The name of the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, which is a lunar calendar. It occurs eleven days earlier each year. During the month, Muslims do not eat, drink or smoke between sunrise and sunset.
Eid al-Fitr – Occurs at the end of Ramadan, and lasts three days during which alms are given to the poor, children receive gifts and people wear new clothes.
Eid al-Adha – Celebrated at the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. It commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael. A sheep, camel or goat is killed and shared with the poor.