Islam+Learning+of+Prayers

As a Muslim child is first beginning to speak, they are taught prayers, for it is a very important part of a Muslim's life. One of the prayers is **bismillah al-rahman al-rahim**--in the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate--which is one of many important prayers. Prayers are an important part of children’s lives, and become more and more a part of their daily rituals as they grow up. This prayer is started so early, because it is one used before **meals**, before **stepping into a room, or into a mosque**, etc. Learning prayers is very common in Judaism as well, Jewish children go to **Hebrew school** to learn to read the Torah, so they can read the Torah out loud, like Muslim children **learning Arabic** to recite prayers. This is similar to the Hinduism **thread ceremony**, because in Hinduism, the boy is **reborn spiritually** during the upanayana and has to sacrifice something—the symbolic wood.
 * An Important Islamic Prayer**

Males, as soon as they can **recite the Quar’an** aloud, get **circumcised**. Girls go through **clitoridectomy** which is when the clitoris (a part of the vagina) is scarred or completely removed. This act is //very// **controversial**, and not practiced much because it is so painful. Women have actually died because of profuse bleeding. (“there is little that is Islamic about this practice” (100).) Although **clitoridectomy isn't practiced in Judaism,** circumcision is--the same process as Islam--but the circumcision in **Judaism is at birth**, unlike Islamic tradition where the ritual happens when the male is able to read the Quar'an.
 * Circumcision and Clitoridectomy**

Gordon, Matthew S. __Islam World Religions__. New York: Facts on File, 1991.

....Comparing to Buddhism