Remember waking up in Jerusalem to the mystical sound of the call to prayer? I loved it. In fact, during the precarious internal debate between studying Hebrew or Arabic, the chance to learn the words to “the Adhan” tipped the scales and I signed up for Arabic.
Enter Dr. Nafez Nazzal!
Professor Nazzal joked that, despite being unbaptized, President Hinckley had called him a “dry Mormon” for his understanding and support of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. His equally talented wife, Dr. Laila Nazzal, also taught at the Center, and they would sometimes banter in lively Arabic. “Don’t worry,” he smilingly reassured us, “Arabic people are not so soft spoken as the Mormons, but we aren’t fighting, we’re just loud!” His humility, humor, and scholarship made an enormous impression on me. One lesson in particular still sticks with me nearly 30 years later:
He was teaching us about the call to prayer. As the call rolled into our classroom through the breezy open balcony windows facing the old city, Dr. Nazzal stood at the front of the class and demonstrated the Muslim prayer. I distinctly remember watching as this educated and distinguished man, whom I deeply respected, knelt quietly to the floor and placed his head on the ground in symbol of total submission to God… Allah… Heavenly Father.
The class of squirmy college students was silent. Reverent.
This prayer, offered not just with words, but with one’s entire body, was a tender, beautiful illustration to me of the power that can come in surrendering our will to God’s. From that day on when I see Muslims in prayer, I remember Dr. Nazzal and the reverence I felt that day.
Born and raised in the Muslim quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, he described his life as tapestried with challenges. But he drew strength from a Latter day Saint hymn, which he asked us to sing for him:
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
I count my experience at the BYU Jerusalem Center as one of the great blessings of my life. It shaped within me a profound love for the scriptures, a deep respect for other religions and cultures, and a testimony of Jesus Christ and the restoration that continues to sustain my faith today.
And – I learned the words to the call to prayer!
Dr. Nazzal
Shukran, BYU Jerusalem Center!
Carrie Skarda – Winter/Spring 1996
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