Sheikh Yusuf Estes, a former Islamic minister, was the keynote speaker at an event called “Islam Exposed,” which was held at the Beale Memorial Library on April 4. The event was put on by the Islamic Shoura Council of Bakersfield. Emad Merza, the community speaker for the Shoura Council, estimated there are around 5,000 Muslims in Kern County. Merza added that at the council’s annual Muslim celebrations, over 1,000 people show up. According to islamicinvitationcentre.com the Muslims have six articles of faith: God, Angels, The Divine Decree, Prophets, Scriptures, and Judgment Day. Estes started off by saying a phrase in the Middle Eastern language.
“You didn’t think this was going to be in English did you?” Estes joked.
Estes talked about the word “Islam” and what it’s true meaning really is. “In my studies, when I first got involved, I found that this word (Islam) was actually the key to helping me and everybody else understand where the word comes from. If you ask a Muslim what’s Islam, they will tell you it means peace,” he said.
In the question-and-answer period that followed his lecture, Estes addressed two common misconceptions/questions that Americans may have about the Islamic people and the belief of Islam. The first misconception that Estes addressed was whether Muslim women are required to wear a hijab, which is a head cover that Muslim women use.
“They (women) never have to wear it (a hujab) unless there is a man in the house who is not supposed to see her beauty,” Estes said.
According to readingislam.com “The first reason for wearing hijab, then, is that it is a command from God. Religious Muslims – like any other religious people belonging to any revealed religion – don’t feel comfortable in deliberately disobeying God!”
Another misconception that Estes addressed is whether Muslims have to grow beards. “Not all Muslims have to grow beards,” Estes said, and then joked, “Ladies don’t have to. For me, that bothers me a lot when a women’s beard is a lot bigger than mine. Men don’t grow beards; we say Allah grows beards.”Estes, who is originally from Texas but lives now in Virginia, goes around to different places and tells people everything they may want to know about Islam. Anyone wanting to learn more about Islam can go to www.searchforislam.com to find more information.