Omar El-Etr
In a life that inevitably spins out of control, it brings my heart so much tranquility knowing that I have an immutable constant—my daily salah. My prayers ground me; they put me at peace; and they help me manage my anxiety. Although many of us struggle with praying regularly in general, it still is practically easy to do when we're in the comfort of our homes. The challenge here is more on the spiritual/religious side than anything else.When it comes to praying outside, however, that challenge is compounded by practicality. This is especially the case for those of us living in non-Muslim countries; it can be easy to fall into the trap of coming up with excuses for why it's difficult to pray outside.
As a Muslim living and working in a non-Muslim country, navigating my religion and spirituality can pose some challenges. That only means that I should rise up to these challenges and work on finding solutions. In this article, I talk about how a simple chat with my manager led to two prayer rooms in my company's new headquarters.
Good designers must always be avant-gardists, always one step ahead of the times. They should–and must–question everything generally thought to be obvious.