Islam

What do Muslims do to celebrate birth?
What does it mean and why does it matter to belong?

This term we continue to look at the Islamic faith. We will focus on the importance of community to Muslims worldwide . We will begin to understand that all Muslims believe that they should work together in harmony and follow the straight path. 
We will look closer at how the Muslim community celebrates a new member - the birth of a baby. They see this as a blessing, something that Muslims give thanks for.

 They have a set ritual that they follow when they welcome a baby into the Muslim community. 

• They whisper the call to prayer into the baby’s ear just after they have been born – this reminds them to worship the one God;
• Then the baby is given a taste of something sweet.
• The aqiqah ceremony which is when the baby is around 7 days old.
• That Muslims give a gift of food to the poor as part of the aqiqah ceremony.
• That some Muslims shave the baby’s hair at this time as well; the hair is weighed and this weight in silver is given to the poor.
• Babies are traditionally given a name at this time; often they are named after Prophets or other important Muslim figures

We will then compare the way both Muslims and Christians celebrate the birth of a baby.