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Freeman adds prayer room for Muslim doctors, patients
By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
Muslim doctors and patients at Freeman Hospital West in the past few weeks have a new option for their spiritual well-being.
Dr. Iftikhar Ali said Friday that the number of Muslim doctors in Joplin is increasing. He said though in the past year a new mosque has opened, it sometimes was still difficult to break away from the hospital for the required prayers five times daily. Ali is president of the Joplin mosque.
He said he asked Gary Duncan, the hospital president and chief executive officer, if he would consider establishing a Muslim prayer room. Not long after that, he said, a hospital worker asked him whether he had seen his room. Ali said he is grateful to Duncan for the addition.
“The hospital is a microcosm of the whole community,” Duncan said. “We need to take the strength of that diversity, and celebrate it and support it.”
The hospital has a nondemoninational chapel that is open to anyone of any faith.
Mostly doctors are using the new room so far, Ali said, but he added that doctors and other staff members would make the prayer room available to patients who express an interest. The prayer room probably would be difficult to find for someone who doesn’t know its location or how to get there.
It’s a simply arranged room, with a sheet placed on a carpet oriented toward Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to the northeast. It is the direction that Muslims must face during prayer. Visitors are required to remove their shoes before stepping on the rug.
Ali said he thinks the presence of the prayer room will help promote understanding of different cultures and religions.
“This is something that will help create a better community,” Ali said.
Ali was asked about the likelihood that some people won’t like the idea of a Muslim prayer room at the hospital. He said those who have questions may ask him or other local Muslims, and they can provide answers or clarify misconceptions.
“We’re about health care,” Duncan said. “We’re not about the world stage.” He said for Ali’s patients, his religion is not an issue.
“It’s all about providing care,” Ali said.
Both said an important aspect of recovery for some patients is their religion. Ali said if he knows that a patient is religious, he often advises them to pray.
Prayer times
Muslims must pray before sunrise, shortly after noon, in late afternoon, at sunset and before sleeping at night.
Source: about.com
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