星期五對伊斯蘭教來說是重要的神聖崇拜日,穆斯林每週都必須參加星期五的祈禱。這對於在香港的穆斯林來說可能是一個挑戰,因為他們必須在午飯時間趕去附近的清真寺或祈禱室參加祈禱,再在午飯時間完之前趕回去工作。這件事對於在新界工作或上課的穆斯林來說更難,因為目前在新界是沒有清真寺的。為了解決這個問題,他們會在附近租用住宅公寓作為祈禱室並用作向孩童教授古蘭經的教室。如果他們的僱主不了解伊斯蘭教的話更是會令星期五的祈禱變得難上加難。
在香港,穆斯林兒童普遍都會在伊斯蘭學校讀書,所以穆斯林和香港人的社區可以說是分離的。香港人對穆斯林有時會出現的誤解可能都是因為兩個社區之間的溝通比較少,所以大多數香港人對穆斯林的印象都是來自新聞媒體的。雖然在香港的穆斯林社區發展得不錯,但是香港人對伊斯蘭教缺乏理解,這種無知可能會演變成歧視的行為。如果不能適當地去了解他們的宗教習俗,就有可能出現不懂得怎麼去滿足穆斯林的需求的情況,所以兩個社區之間的溝通是很重要的。
Friday is a sacred day of worship in Islam and Muslims are required to join Friday prayers every week. For Muslims in Hong Kong, this may be a bit of a challenge as they would have to attend the prayers during lunch hours. Muslims would head to Mosques or prayer rooms nearby for prayers then head back to work, but this is more difficult for Muslims working or studying in New Territories as there are currently no Mosques in that area. Instead, some Muslims have rented residential apartments in this area to use as prayer rooms and for teaching the Quran to children. Friday prayers can be made even more difficult when employers are not understanding of the Islam religion.
Muslim children mostly study at Islamic schools in Hong Kong, the segregation of Muslim and local communities makes the presence of cross-cultural dialogue scarce, leading to misunderstandings about Muslims as most local people’s impression about Muslims would have come from the media. In general, the Muslim community has developed smoothly in Hong Kong, however, the lack of communication and hence understanding from local people may become a precursor to discrimination due to the lack of knowledge about their religion. Without proper education about their religious practices, local people may not have the sense to accommodate their needs.