A Visit to A Mosque In America Essay

Once inside the prayer hall, the imam explained to me that in a mosque there

As I approach the steps of Temple B’nai Abraham in Meriden, CT. I got nervous I did not know what to expect besides the information that was given to me or word of mouth. Soon as I entered the door I was greeted as a visitor. I told the young men I was here for an assignment for class. I explained the assignment to him and he was so gracious about it. He explained what to expect in the synagogue. He took a few minutes to show me the prayer shawl that they Jewish wear are called tallit. Like Mr. Coker explained in the PowerPoint. The Tallit can be worn by men and women. But the men has to wear the Kippah while in the temple. Wearing the Kippa is a sign of respect for God. But women can wear the Kippah if they feel comfortable. Then the gentleman

Next, my mother told me this mosque is the biggest one, and the second religious buildings, also it has the tallest minaret in the world. This mosque has a roof made of light steel, and decorated with cedar wood which opens in 3 minutes for bringing fresh air during the summer. Also, this mosque has many chandeliers made in crystal. The location of this mosque is right by the sea overlooking the Atlantic ocean,

During this century, the new sovereign of Cordoba, Abd ar-Rahman, bought the building and basically rebuilt it by designing a mosque. It is because of this unusual legacy that the Great Mosque of Cordoba, unlike most mosques, is not aligned with Mecca, the sacred sacred place for Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

With a beautiful gilt dome decorating the skyline of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock has been the oldest and most famous Islamic building on the Temple Mount. As a kinetic and interrelated religious space, it not only functions as a Muslim shrine, but also exhibits significance based on its history and relative location to Jewish and Christian spaces. As its identity was once shifted to a church from an Islamic monument and then restored, the Dome of the Rock changes along the foreign conquest of Jerusalem, marking the development of Islam. Being constructed on the remains of Solomon’s Temple to compete with Christian sanctuaries on the western hill, this Islamic shrine reveals the inspiration of Jewish spaces and kingship to Islam, as well as its rivalry with Christianity when it first entered Jerusalem.

The Congregation of Mickve Israel is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture with Islamic influence. Located in Monterey Square in Savannah, Georgia between East Wayne and Gordon Street, this gorgeous temple stands out amongst savannah architecture. Looking at the temple, I first thought it was just another church as a result of this Gothic Revival style. But, then I noticed the star of David and realized it was the building I was looking for. I have never seen a synagogue in this architectural style, making this structure truly unique. Mickve Israel’s tower is truly fascinating in its intricacies, and I was very surprised to find Islamic influence in the structure. The tower’s details with lancet stained-glass windows and the repeated quatrefoils are just another example of this building’s beautiful complexity. The cornices and embattlements leading up to the minaret/copula are riddled with multifaceted details. The design of this portion of the temple draws the eye up to the roof of the minaret, which I assume at one point was copper. Now, in greenish teal color, the roof pairs beautifully with the rest of the color scheme of Mickve Israel. Sand tan, white and teal convalesce in this structure and create an architectural masterpiece that one can’t take their eyes away from.

I chose to research the Muslim religion for my site visit. I wanted to have in depth experience with this religion since I did my group project about Sikhism and during class we went into great detail about every other religion. I did not know what to expect when visiting a mosque, it was a pretty nerve-wracking experience for me being a non-Muslim. I have been raised with Christian morals my whole life even though I have only gone to church a few times in my whole life. Almost all religions have a house of prayer; Jews have synagogues, Buddhists/Hindus have temples and Catholic and Christians have churches and cathedrals. Muslims have mosques; each religious center has their own different rules, rituals and services that need to be followed. A mosque is a place of prayer for Muslims within the Islamic belief. Another word for mosque in Arabic is Masjid. Kind of like a church, a mosque is where Muslims worship and bow before Allah to declare their obedience and loyalty. Mosques date back till the time of the prophet. In order to find a mosque, I went on the Internet and stumbled upon Masjid Beit El-Maqdes.

The Muslim home in America is like any other Dar (locus for family development centre), the only difference would be they do not base their home for wealth but on love. They have special traditions they follow and pass onto their children when they are making their own home. Some build their homes from the ground up and some get a house and make it a home. The home is seen with no animal or human shapes. It’s a neutral environment and seen in very neutral colors. The main color you may see in their manzils (place to settle down & take break) would be the color brown, they do not use black because that is seen as the funeral color. The manzil has plenty of sun light but also gives them privacy from the outside

The Islamic municipal began to share to the whole world when the medieval period was about culture. The Islam change how they use to live in their lives. The Muslims show the Europeans about cleanliness and sanitation. Muslims needed to be clean to pray. Earliest Arabs believed the art was helping god so this led to all the art being everyone’s home it was like you was saying I given respect to god. Mosques

Islam - a monotheistic religeon based on the belief that there is one god, Allah, and that Mohammad was Allah's prophet. Islam is based in the ancient city Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the birth place of Muhammad.

In addition to the structure's architectural composition, elaborate Quranic inscriptions further elaborate this message of religious superiority. Carole Hillenbrand alludes to such:

The dirt is believe to upset or distract people from praying. The entry ways are separated there is an entrance for women and one for men once entering there is a cleansing room where I was taught the process of wudu or “three times washing”, wudu is three times of washing of the hands, wrists, elbows, forearms, feet, ankles, hairline, and so forth each body section is washed in order which has an associated prayer for each part. The service was different than any other religious service I had attended in my life (Catholic and Baptist Services) services at the masjid are highly ritualized with all of the prayers being in Arabic. During the service you are to sit on the floor although chairs are available if needed. There’s much bowing and kneeling without any instructions of when to do so for newcomers I just mimicked what the others did for I did not want to offend anyone.

Introduction and Arrival: I attended the Islam site visit at the River Oaks Islamic Center on Wednesday May 3rd. I chose to go to the Islam site because it was the first site visit I could attend because of the Lacrosse season. I was also excited to go to the Islam site visit because I know so little about Islam, apart from what the news says. I expected to see a lot of women with full scarves, long dresses and cloth slippers, accompanied by their husbands dressed in suits. I expected the mosque to be really large with intricate architecture on the outside. I also envisioned pews when we walked in, like a church. I thought we would walk in to a large room, with pews in the back and prayer rugs at the front. I also pictured an altar, but now

My first impression upon arriving at the mosque was that it was very drab and plain inside, as compared to how it looked on the outside. The religion I grew up in had beautifully decorated churches; while I wanted to ask why the mosque was so drab inside, I felt it would sound rude and unkind. Furthermore, I was disappointed to see the only chairs available to sit upon in the mosque were for pregnant, disabled, and elderly people. The religion I grew up in had nice, plump, padded pews for its members to sit upon. Again, I did not question why there were no pews as I felt it would be unkind.

The mosque has a prayer hall (Musalla) which is the area for the prayer. Before entering the scared area which is the prayer area everyone is required to take off their shoes and place them in