Like most Christians, I think, I feel some uneasiness when the topic of Islam comes up. Perhaps it’s politically incorrect to voice that, but I think many Americans have experienced similar emotions.
There is, of course, a long history of tension, which has certainly been exacerbated since the 9/11 attacks committed by extremist Islamic terrorists and the extensive media coverage since then.
But what’s more important than what we feel is what we do. And in America, we don’t discriminate based on religion. That’s a violation of our nation’s most important law, the 1st Amendment.
In that light, the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors made the right choice when it gave approval Dec. 19 to the Islamic Society of the Mississippi Delta to establish a cemetery on its land between Ruleville and Cleveland. It gave it the same consideration it would have a Christian group, which is the right way to approach it.
Also, we often fear what we don’t know, so I thought it would be helpful to learn more about Islam and its local adherents. I called Mustafa McPherson, the representative who spoke to the board for the Islamic Society.
He said they meet at a masjid, which he said is similar to a mosque but smaller. Muslims’ normal day of worship is Friday. They have five daily prayers — before sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and at night — and they meet together for a special congregational prayer at noon on Friday. There are about 15 or so who attend, McPherson said.
There are five pillars of faith: declaration of faith, ritual prayers, fasting during Ramadan, giving a percentage to charity and pilgrimage to Mecca, which McPherson said he made in 2010 and 2016. Regarding the proposed cemetery, McPherson said a few people are buried in Greenwood, but that cemetery is now full.
Muslims also believe in being turned in a certain direction and are against headstones or monuments, according to McPherson. He said there is simply a 16-inch-by-12-inch plaque on the ground for the Greenwood graves.
McPherson said he’s visited masjids throughout the country and most there are immigrants from Islamic countries. He said another sizeable group is African Americans, many of whom, like Malcom X, originated with the Nation of Islam and then changed to a more mainstream practice.
Only a few are Caucasians like McPherson, he said. The Mississippi native grew up on the Gulf Coast and attended Mississippi State, where he had a Muslim roommate. He said he read his Quran and converted as a result in 1981. McPherson said he stopped practicing in 1985 because of how Muslims were portrayed in the media and his association in the minds’ of others as a result rather than any negative dealings with his fellow adherents.
“I never spoke to any Muslim who supported any terrorism,” he said.
McPherson, who lives near Leland and works as a cotton breeder for PhytoGen Seed Company, said he started practicing again in 2001 — and then 9/11 came.
“That was a big test for me, but I stuck to my guns and I’m still a practicing Muslim.”
