Nana's Prayer Mat 

My nana's prayer mat is the object that represents my immigrant experience. Prayer mats are used by Muslims to perform the obligated 5 daily prayers. This is a special prayer mat that was passed down by my grandfather who passed away on Friday, September 17th, 1999. Muslims consider Fridays a very special day because it's the day of Jummah, which is "the day of gathering" where Muslims pray in congregation at the mosque. My family and I miss my grandfather a lot, although I didn't get to know him that well, since I was a newborn baby; however he will always be in my heart forever. My grandfather gave this prayer mat to my mother before we immigrated to the United States. In the summer of 1999, in Sylhet, Bangladesh, when I was 9 months old, I remember when my mother would tell me stories of her praying on this mat everyday without leaving it by her side, how my grandfather was a pious and religious man who always relied on the words of God in times of difficulty. Through prayer, it gave her a sense of tranquility and comfort to the heart, knowing that there's a superior Creator, ultimately in charge of everything. In 2003, my family and I immigrated to the United States and we brought this prayer mat with us when we used to live in Manhattan, in East 4th Street. Then, in 2005, we brought a house and moved to Queens and brought my grandfather's prayer mat along with us as a memory of his passing.

The prayer mat is colorful with blue, red, and white floral print outlining the border as well as the Qiblah, which is where you position your head when performing sujood (act of bowing down). The prayer mat has an image of Medina, a city in Saudi Arabia, which is a major Islamic pilgrimage site where Muslims visit once a year in order to complete the 5 Pillars of Islam (shahada: The belief that "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to the Islamic faith, prayer (salat), charity (zakat), fasting (sawm), and the pilgrimage known as Hajj. Here by looking at this picture, the place where you stand is torn apart after constantly being used. Whenever I pray on my nana's mat, it brings me peace and takes me back to the memories that were created in Bangladesh. I strongly believe that being a South Asian immigrant allows me incorporate my culture and share the religious beliefs I hold dearly to those outside the community, which creates a form of storytelling and building communication among those who are different from myself. Overall, I consider this prayer mat as a historical artifact that I will forever cherish and pass it down to my future children and hope to share the life that my grandfather lived in Bangladesh.