Brussels Summer 2012 Study Abroad: Visiting Amsterdam

This past weekend, our whole group was able to travel to the city of Amsterdam. We got to meet Mr. Achmed Baadoud who was the city councilman of Amsterdam Nieuw-West. He oversees that area of Amsterdam which is a large mixture of both Dutch and foreign people. There is a Muslim community within this district and Mr. Baadoud described many of the challenges that they face which were discussed in our Islam and Politics class such as language barriers and the educational system. It was great to be able to hear about things that were from our class and how accurate they were to real situations. After visiting the city councilman we went to the Blue Mosque where we met Mr. Abdulhafiz Acherrat who is the Assistant Director. He gave us a tour of the mosque and also told us about some general practices of the people who attend. I got to see where the people of the mosque pray daily and that they have special places for programs for men, women and children. I was impressed with how open Mr. Acherrat was and that we were able to walk through practically the entire mosque. This visit applied greatly to the beginning portion of the Islam and Politics course explaining the general beliefs and learning of the Qur'an at an early age. It amazed me how early children start and how much they are able to retain by memorizing the whole book. I felt that the visit was very informative and gave me a greater appreciation for those who participate in this daily lifestyle.