About us and why we're registering onto a Muslim forum

[stephenc]

My wife and I own and run 3 Northern Ireland Tourist Board regulated and approved short stay self catering apartments in the centre of Belfast, N.Ireland and have found that more and more we are receiving guests of the Muslim faith
We have found all these guests to be of high morality, kind and of strong faith and would like to be in a position to warmly welcome them and any future Muslim guests in the correct manner and according to their religion

On a recent visit to Istanbul my wife Jane and I visited the Blue Mosque and engaged in conversation with a learned university lecturer (Dr Suleyman Derin). We were given a great insight into the religion and thank him dearly not just for the time he spent with us but for the provision of a prayer mat, a book on the religion and a kind gift of coffee

I hope to be able to pick up more information about the faith and its community from this website and put it into practise when welcoming our Islamic guests

[ardianto]

Welcome to Islamicboard forum, Stephenc. :welcome:

[PouringRain]

Welcome to the forum.

[Woodrow]

First of all WELCOME to the Forums, glad to have you here.

It is really hard to give any advice that would apply to all Muslims as we are very Diverse. I am a typical American in many ways. A Native born Connecticut Yankee. My wife is Native American of the Cheyenne Tribe. So just speaking for us all I would ask is to keep alcohol away from us, speak and dress modestly and do not be offended when we do not look directly at or have any deliberate physical contact with the opposite gender, including no shaking hands except with those of our own gender. Also do not be offended if we refuse to eat any food offered to us as we will not eat anything until we know the food is halal. Sometimes even the most innocent seeming of foods is forbidden to us.

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[stephenc]

Thanks for your warm welcome and a particular thanks to Woodrow for his post

I'm particularly interested in how to greet our Muslim guests (or should I refer to them as Islam guests?). Its normal for both Jane and I to be there to welcome guests (including both of us shaking their hands) and I'm wondering now if this is the wrong ediquette? This is probably the wrong forum to discuss this but thanks for making me aware

I also understand the importance of halal food and am looking into finding local suppliers for our faq guide

[جوري]

:welcome: to the forum stephen.. I have always wanted to visit Ireland and Scotland but unfortunately only got as far as England.. perhaps in the near future I'll take a trip to your lovely country and you can help us find a suitable accommodation..

Enjoy your stay with us..

[stephenc]

Thanks and perhaps you might make it to Belfast in the future

[Woodrow]

Thanks for your warm welcome and a particular thanks to Woodrow for his post

I'm particularly interested in how to greet our Muslim guests (or should I refer to them as Islam guests?). Its normal for both Jane and I to be there to welcome guests (including both of us shaking their hands) and I'm wondering now if this is the wrong ediquette? This is probably the wrong forum to discuss this but thanks for making me aware

I also understand the importance of halal food and am looking into finding local suppliers for our faq guide

Thank you stephanc,

One of the most appreciated things you and your wife could do, is you greet the male guests and your wife greet the female guests. that will also avoid the awkwardness of inappropriate hand shaking. It is very permissible to shake hands with a member of the same gender or even hug if that is your custom.

We are Muslims and would be Muslim guests. Islam is a verb and has come to be the name of what we follow. As a verb Islam means "to submit to God(swt)" Muslim is a noun and means "a man who does Islam" a female Muslim is a Muslimah.

Some things that we do not like to see in a building are dogs. Do not ask a Muslim to pet your dog no matter how friendly the dog is. Some things we would appreciate is a placard to put on our door that reads. "Please do not disturb or knock on the door, it is our prayer time". Don't look shocked if we take our shoes off when we come indoors. Many Muslims do prefer to eat with their fingers, if you have a dinning room and serve meals a finger bowl with water and a small towel are appreciated.

I'll post more as they come to mind.

[Ansariyah]

Hi Stephenc

Welcome, its nice to have you here.=)

[جوري]

Thanks and perhaps you might make it to Belfast in the future

I'd indeed like that very much..

[stephenc]

Great advice Woodrow and much appreciated. Presently we have an faq which includes questions and answers to -

What time is check in & check out?
I'm flying into Belfast - how much does it cost to get to you and what is the best route?
How far is it from a supermarket?
How often are the towels and bedding changed?
Do you clean the apartment during our visit?
Is there car hire nearby and can you recommend any?
What is the nearest train station terminal to the apartment?
Is there anywhere you'd particularly recommend us to visit in Belfast?
Is there internet access?
Do you supply discount vouchers?
Where is the nearest tourist information office?
I have a balance to pay on arrival, what payment methods do you accept?
What currency do you accept? For example, do you take Euro?
Do you supply a welcome pack?
Do I need to bring towels?
What washing / cleaning materials do you supply?
Can you recommend someone who runs tours in and around Belfast?

I'd like to add another catagory about how this might affect our Muslim guests, eg 'Do you cater for the Muslim community?' but am frightened of causing offence by not asking the question properly or not having the correct answers so your suggestions above are indeed a great starting point (by the way, no offence to dog lovers but we don't allow pets unless they are guide dogs)

The placard and finger bowls are also great ideas though as it is self catering the guests are left alone in the property for the duration of their stay

[stephenc]

Thanks Yanoorah

[Woodrow]

This brought something to mind:

What washing / cleaning materials do you supply?

If they are not from a halal market and/or not labeled halal provide soaps and shampoos that do not contain any alcohols and/or glycerin or other animal products. In your answer on your faq you can give the brand name of the soaps and shampoos you provide.

Do you supply a welcome pack?

A very appreciated welcome pack would contain a month long prayer schedule from the closest Mosque A list of the closest Mosques and if you can find out if they are Sunni or Shi'i. Although it is permissible for us to pray in either, most of us do have a preference. Another handy thing would be a few of the travel prayer mats. They can often be found at a local Mosque and are usually very low price or even free. They are often made out of paper or plastic. a very nice surprise would be to have a few miswaks (siwaks) in a welcome pack. These can be found at nearly every halal market.

[Ğħαrєєвαħ]

Salaam/peace

Welcome to the forum and hope you find your stay here a chance to learn about Islaam.

You are indeed on the right place to ask your questions, so feel free to continue.

Also hope you enjoy your stay here

peace

[Muhammad]

Greetings Stephen,

Welcome to the forum. It's really kind and thoughtful of you to be researching how best to welcome your Muslim guests. :)

Please don't feel burdened that you must implement everything suggested... some things are more essential than others. I think one of the best suggestions is what Woodrow mentioned about males greeting males and females greeting females.

Out of curiosity, does the area have a large Muslim population?

Regards.

[Salahudeen]

Welcome to the forum, I think woodrow all ready mentioned it, but a list of halal food outlets is pretty important.

[MustafaMc]

Welcome to the forums, Stephen. I am an American revert to Islam of mixed European decent including ancestry from nearby Scotland. Brother Woodrow has provided some very good points. A few thoughts came to mind in response to your question.

From my perspective if I were traveling to Belfast, I would want to know: 1) prayer times, but time of sunrise and sunset would be sufficient, 2) direction to Mecca and compass orientation in the room, 3) directions to closest masjid (mosque).

On greeting, I would prefer for a female host to not extend her hand to me for a handshake or reach out to embrace me in a hug. Some Muslim men may not be as conservative and may actually extend their hand to a female. The same would apply for a man greeting a Muslimah.

Food preparation should avoid all alcohol and pork products, including lard. I will eat chicken, beef, and lamb, but only if it is Islamically slaughtered (halal). Some Muslims will eat these meats from animals killed by a Christian or a Jew. I will eat fish and seafood, but Muslims who follow the Hanafi school don't eat shellfish.

Room decoration should avoid figures and paintings of people and animals.

[Cabdullahi]

I will eat chicken, beef, and lamb,..........I will eat fish and seafood.

and i will eat halal camel meat...aubergines and chocolate crescent roll.


Im just kidding.....welcome to the forum :)

[Zafran]

welcome to the forum

Hope you enjoy your stay here

peace

[selsebil]

Dear Stephenc,

Welcome to the forum. Hope you'd benefit from your stay here. I'm happy to learn that you visited Istanbul. I'm also from Istanbul.

Peace!

[stephenc]

Welcome to the forum, I think woodrow all ready mentioned it, but a list of halal food outlets is pretty important.

Thanks Squiggle, I've been trying to locate them but am running into problems. I've emailed the local mosque in Belfast a few days ago and previously a few weeks ago but still havn't got a reply. I'll maybe give them a ring, I just thought an email was less invasive

[stephenc]

Some very useful pointers there MustafaMc, thanks for this

[stephenc]

Seems like an amazing city selsebil, pity we only had 1 day in it. The visit to the Blue Mosque made it special for us though and the time we spent with Suleyman. Maybe we'll return some time...

[stephenc]

Thanks Zafran, peace

[stephenc]

Out of curiosity, does the area have a large Muslim population?

Thanks Muhammed, there's quite a small Muslim population in Belfast and N.Ireland and in fact there is only 1 mosque called Belfast Islamic Centre which is located around half a mile from us. Its just that we've been getting more Muslim guests recently and I'm not sure why, though I think its probably because we are self catering which means there is a fully equipped kitchen for them to prepare their food in

[stephenc]

Thanks to all who posted here in reply to my introduction and apologies if I've missed anyone out

Before the moderator expels me for posting on the wrong forum continuosly I'll open a new thread shortly in the 'Importance & Etiquettes of Seeking Knowledge' forum. Once again, thanks to all who replied

[MustafaMc]

Stephen, have you read the Quran or studied Islam?

[stephenc]

I havn't read the Quran MustafaMc, nor have I studied Islam other than to read a book called 'Islam - Spirit and Form' by Osman Nuri Topbas which Suleyman gave me as a kind gift at the Blue Mosque. It was while my wife and I were walking beside the mosque that we were invited with others to attend his presentation. It was very enlightening in that up to then we had greeted Muslim guests in our accommodation but (apologies) didn't know the difference between Islam and any other religion

I read the book from cover to cover and was surprised how many similarities it has to the Christian faith which I was brought up in. There were some parts I was unhappy with but I know its wrong to criticise the religion so I won't go there, but its safe to say I have a much better idea than what I had a few weeks ago

The religion (Islam) is very charitable, honourable, true, generous and caring though I'm sure most religions are like that and they all have a few 'bad apples' which badly reflect

I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying that one of the issues I've problems with in any religion is that 'God' created man only to worship him; some might say this was a selfish purpose for one so almighty - but I'm not going to go further with this as it could be considered offensive (apologies if it is) and its the wrong forum to take this forward

[MustafaMc]

Stephen, perhaps you may want to start a thread under comparative religion for your questions. Your presence here is an opportunity to learn more about Islam. If you have legitimate concerns and questions about what Islam teaches then you are welcome to bring those forward if (and I believe you can) you can present them in a respectful manner.

Regarding the reason why we were created to worship God, I think it answers a basic human question for his existence. My take on the verse you mentioned is that we were created in a manner that we have the choice to worship God, or not. We were not created as robots like the angels to always do the will of God, but rather every day we Muslims choose between submitting to His will, or not. I have made the decision to follow Prophet Muhammad (saaws) in what I believe about God and the unseen and in how I live my life, including how I worship God. I am not one to even approach understanding God's motives for creating humans to worship Him; however, I choose this Path and I hope in the promised reward for those who do.

[stephenc]

Thanks MustafaMc, firstly apologies in my earlier reference to the word 'selfish' - I think demanding might have been a more appropriate word and no disrespect was intended

If I can find the time, I'm going to read into some of the posts entered into the various forums in order to further understand the religion. I totally agree with you that we as mere mortals cannot have the understanding to deal with such complex issues but we are given the power of thought and reasoning and our mind inevitably explores these issues

I wonder what sort of percentage of followers from any religion they have been brought up in leave it and join another religion and if there are any lessons to be learn there?

Life is such a mystery ...

[MustafaMc]

Stephen, honest questions are fair game, but at the same time there will always be questions that we can't intellectually answer such as "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?", "Can God create a stone so heavy that He can't pick it up?", and "What is the nature of the soul?"

An example of this kind of questioning is this thread, "Is Allah Fair?":
http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ml#post1404014

I am sure that the percentage of people who convert to a religion different from what they were raised is very low. My wife and I are the only Muslims in our families of mostly Baptist denomination of Christianity. This actually touches upon a hard question that I have, "What merit could I possibly have had such that God chose to guide me to Islam from among the masses of misled Americans?"