TALLAHASSEE, FL (#WTXLDigital) - A recent photo taken of a prayer group at a Wakulla County beach divided the community this week.
The photo was taken by County Commissioner Ralph Thomas and caused quite a stir online and at a Monday County Commission Meeting. You can read about what happened at the meeting by clicking here.
WTXL took a look at some of the comments made online and at Monday's meeting and spoke about them with Imam Amro, a Muslim leader at the Islamic Center of Tallahassee.
One topic Imam Amro explained is Sharia Law and how its rules cannot be enforced against someone who does not wish to participate in them or may not know about them.
"So in the Sharia law, you don't implement Sharia on people who don't know it; this is not logical," explains Imam Amro. Even Muslims who do not wish to participate in Sharia don't have to or if they are in a situation where they may not have a choice, exceptions can be made.
Imam Amro provides the example of someone who is suffering during a famine and steals a loaf of bread. He says normally under Sharia they would be punished but because they were looking for food during a time of hunger, punishment would not be implemented on them.
Sharia are divine Islamic laws, according to Imam Amro, but he wants people to understand that they are gentle, "The sun rises up; a little bit, a little bit. Not suddenly to affect our eyes. And when it sets down; a little bit, a little bit. So you can get used to it. Sharia is the same; a little bit, a little bit. You want to get used to it."
Will Dance, a local radio host and candidate for Wakulla County Sheriff, brought up a scenario that WTXL also asked Imam Amro to address. Dance told Commissioners at the Monday meeting that he was concerned about how a Muslim man would react to seeing his wife and daughters wearing shorts at the beach. You can read his full comment by clicking here.
Imam Amro says no one should be concerned about a situation like this, "This is something that doesn't come in the brain of a Muslim in general. A sick brain -- you can find it in Islam, in Christianity, in any religion; a sick brain that is something else. But the regular brain does not think this way, the regular Muslim he prays whenever he wants or whenever he can.... And if somebody wearing something that contradicts with his religion, this is not something that is his business."
He goes on to explain that even if they were faced with someone they didn't feel was dressed modestly at a Mosque, "...then somebody will talk very nicely, 'please don't wear shorts inside the mosque'..."
Imam Amro also spoke with us about how he recommends talking or explaining Islam to someone who doesn't understand his religion.
"First thing, you want to know Muslims? Go to Muslims and talk to them. Come to the Mosque, come to the Imam of the Mosque. Any Muslim in general, come and talk to him," says Imam Amro.
Much of the fear people have of Muslims comes from not knowing enough about them, according to Imam Amro. He has an answer though for anyone who is experiencing fear about aspects of Islam -- Google, "I mean Google translate will fix it for you, don't worry... We all believe in Google."
See the video player to watch the full interview with Imam Amro where he explains Muslim prayer services, gives his thoughts on the controversial photo and more.
