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Everyday life is characterised by de Certeau (1984, p. 43) as a ‘vast ensemble’ of ‘procedures’. Islam, perhaps more so than any other religion with the exception of orthodox Judaism, places a great focus on orthopraxis , the following of correct procedures. The daily lives of Muslims involve an array of religious obligations, and as such, these procedures have come to be more indicative of Islam in the non-Muslim sphere than the actual tenets of Islamic belief to which they relate. The five pillars of Islam dictate the obligations Muslims must attend to continually, daily, monthly, annually, and in reference to Hajj, once in a lifetime. This chapter looks at two of these obligations, that of daily prayers and the annual fast during the month of Ramadan, both of which set Muslims apart from their non-Muslim peers during everyday activities. The following discussion shows how individuals manage their religious obligations in everyday situations and circumstances. We see in these accounts how our sample of young Muslims encounter a variety of external expectations and demands regarding their time and religious behaviour. These testimonies highlight how religious practice is tied not only to family traditions and ethnicity, but also to how daily life in Hong Kong influences religious observance. Islamic practice is identified as part of the rhythm of everyday life in Hong Kong. These accounts of religious practice add context to an emerging theme in this book; that is, Islam is not a contentious or volatile issue in Hong Kong and Muslims are free to observe their religion both legally and socially. Of all daily commitments a Muslim makes, prayer is the one that sets them apart from the regular processes of the day in non-Muslim communities . Unlike consuming halal food, which can be performed alongside non-Muslims however problematic this may be, prayer fixes a moment where Muslims must leave their non-Muslim peers and perform as a Muslim alone. It is a daily obligation that must be made five times. There 6 Daily practice 86 Islam in Hong Kong are specific rites about how each prayer should be performed and at what time. Prayer times vary seasonally and relate to ambiguous Qur’anic guidelines which are supplemented by the example of the prophet Muhammad as outlined in the Sunnah. In a Muslim country the call to prayer by the Muezzin from the mosque minaret releases Muslims of the need to be mindful of these times themselves; they are informed. In a nonMuslim society the time must be obtained from the local mosque, through Muslim friends, or sought out independently online. From the beginnings of the religion of Islam, it was understood that prayers could not always be made at their exact times and so if Muslims are unable to perform one of the daily prayers, they are given the concession that they can make them up another time by adding them to a later prayer. The circumstances of the participants in the research vary in terms of their willingness and ability to perform the daily prayers. The vast majority of the youth pray every day and on average manage three of their daily prayers. At least nine have a daily routine in which they complete all their prayers each day. Out of the 37 respondents, seven are infrequent prayers who prefer to leave the precise details of their prayer life ambiguous. In some cases this is due to other commitments in their daily lives, while in others prayers are simply a low priority. School obviously presents an obstacle in attending to prayers. For Indonesian foreign domestic workers, prayers are simply not possible during the busy demands of their daily work. The extent of the difference in the performance of daily prayers is immediately apparent when we address how the first prayer of the day is approached. This prayer is called the fajr prayer, the dawn prayer, and can be performed between first light and sunrise (Qur’an S 24:58). At the time of writing the Islamic Union of Hong Kong’s website (http://www.iuhk. org), which lists the time for the daily prayers, says that fajr starts at 04:24 and that sunrise is at 05:47. Ashja wakes early each morning and performs his prayers with his father and brother. Along with praying, Ashja uses this early start to the day to do extra studies and homework before he has breakfast and travels to school. For Qaaria, the morning prayer is also an important...

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