Here’s looking at you, kid.

Humphey Bogart as “Rick,” “Casablanca”

There are two main ways that Islam is defined. One is “submission,” meaning that the goal of the religion is submission to the will of Allah. The second is “peace,” as Islam is made to be a way of peace followed by all practicing Muslims.

Our last stop on our trip through Morocco was Casablanca. Though this city is less tourist-y than other Moroccan cities, focusing mainly on industry instead, it’s still home to the only mosque in the country that visitors are allowed to enter. The Hassan II Mosque was a beautiful illustration to me of what submission to Allah might look like.

The color scheme of this mosque was really impactful to me. While it was so elaborate, it felt so natural. It blended in with the natural tones of the environment, as well as the colors of the city itself. Being near the ocean and sky, the blue accents really got to shine. Because of it’s grandeur, it stood out and called people to it, but it wasn’t out of place.

I think submission might be similar. In this analogy, we are the mosque and the will of Allah is our surrounding environment. We don’t choose the surrounding environment, so we choose if we will go with it or against it. If we submit to it, like this mosque does with its surroundings, we will become more beautiful and more grand than we could if we had worked according to our own will.

What does it mean to you to submit?

Mosque

“The Mosque is considered to be the community center for Muslims. Better known in Arabic as a Masjid, the mosque represents the nucleus of the Muslim family and community. Daily prayers are offered five times throughout segments of the day. After prayers are offered, Muslims gather for brief discussion and interaction with one another. This interaction maintains a level of unity in the community by fostering social, spiritual, and economic bonds. On Friday afternoons, Muslims hold their weekly congregational prayer known in the Arabic language as Jummah, which means congregation. This weekly ritual provides the Muslim community the opportunity to be reminded and encouraged to live a virtuous life, and to have a positive impact to improve the society and environment in which they live. The message is delivered by the Imam of the Mosque.”

“What is a Masjid.” Islamic Society of Central Florida. (https://iscf.org/masjid/what-is-a-masjid/)