Leading Prayer

“I feel like we should pray,” Mike said. It was the afternoon before the premiere of The Taqwacores motion picture and we were standing in the living room. Everyone was starting to get ready for the movie screening.

“Yeah, I’m kind of feeling like that too,” Shahjehan of The Kominas responded.

“I think Taz should lead the prayer,” Mike said, looking at me. I raised my eyebrows back. Of course Mike would ask me to lead prayers. It’s a very Mike thing to ask.

“I dunno, Mike. I can’t even remember the last time I prayed,” I scoffed. The truth was there was I wasn’t even sure if I remembered all the suras needed to lead an orthodox prayer, much less lead a group of people through prayer. Plus, I was a girl, and I still harbored fire and brimstone hesitancy though I knew with this group of taqwacore, that wouldn’t keep for long.

“Yeah, I can’t remember either…” Mike responded.

“I guess…I’m just not really feeling it right now.”

“Why, what are you feeling?” he asked. Instead of praying, he pulled up a seat next to me on the stairs, and we “built”, as he would say. We talked. It may not have been prayer, but it was a building and connecting. And sometimes, that is needed too. As much as prayer.