Tom Facchine – What is your favorite thing about Islam

			My favorite thing about Islam is like the base level of worship that the average Muslim is expected
to do. When I was growing up, and I grew up as a Christian, I always had this feeling that going to
church on Sunday, you know, singing in the choir, even like the extra Bible studies and stuff like
that. I didn't feel like it was enough. I didn't feel like it was as demanding, as it should have
been. I felt like
		

			you know, in order to really be righteous people and be good people that we needed to be doing a
little bit more.
		

			And there was always the monastic tradition, there was always monks and things like that, but
they're not like the average person. So when I started getting interested in Islam, one of the
things that I loved was that, that basic Muslim, he's expected to pray five times a day, that we
believe that if you want to keep your heart pure, you want to keep your relationship with your
Sustainer and your Creator strong. You have to pray five times a day, if you want to, you know, have
that strong relationship with your Creator. There are certain things you know, you we have to fast
the month out of the year, as long as it doesn't produce, you know, pose any problems to your health
		

			or anything like that. These sorts of things that you're expected to do, you're expected to give
2.5% of your accumulated wealth over a certain amount, you know, to in charity every year and these
sorts of things that kind of like has a what I would call like a high floor of expectations for the
average Muslim. And to me, that just makes a lot of sense. And that provides a lot of guidance in my
daily life.