Islamic Mosque Research Paper

Driving along the highway, all eyes are drawn as a magnet to the unique building with its golden dome and unusual architecture. The Islamic Center is located at the base of a residential street in a small neighborhood. The center houses an Islamic school, a community center, an international school and the Mosque, which is the place of worship for Muslims.

I had the privilege to conduct field research at the Abu Bakr Masjid, also known as the Islamic Center of San Diego on Friday, October 9, 2015. I attended both salat al-Maghrib and a lecture given by Imam Sh. Taha Hassane. Salat al-Maghrib is the “West sun” prayer which takes place five minutes after sunset. Salat al-Maghrib started around 6:37 p.m. Imam Taha Hassane’s lecture started at 7:00 p.m. and ended at 8:01 p.m. before the last prayer of the day: salat al-‘Isha’a. Imam Taha Hassane was already waiting for me outside of the mosque. The first matter he explained was that it was considered proper to enter the masjid (mosque) with my right foot first and exit with my left foot first. Furthermore, I was also explained that in order to enter the prayer hall, I needed to be in a state of ritual purity. This purification consists of ablutions, called wudu’, which involve the washing of the feet, hands, head and face. Once I completed the ablutions, Imam Taha Hassane instructed me to take off my shoes in the designated cabinets in the hallway. This is primarily done to ensure that no outside dirt would violate the sacred space. At Abu Bakr Masjid, like in many other mosques around the Muslim world, genders are separated—men pray in the main prayer hall while women pray upstairs in a separate prayer room. When I asked why, Imam Taha simply explained that it was a matter of modesty and concentration.

Islam originated in present day Saudi Arabia where the prophet, Muhammad, had been born. Islam would later be able to spread quickly through trade, the appealing nature of the Islamic faith, and military campaigns.

During the Post-Classical Age, cities and urban areas in Muslim society played critical roles in religion because Muslim people had to make religious pilgrimages to Holy Cities such as Mecca and Jerusalem, trade because the cities had huge complexes which allowed trade to flourish, and cultural advancement because the cities were filled with a variety of different people as well as there were great advancement in education.

The hypostyle mosque was designed to support the Islamic religious practices, and it was often referred to as a big prayer room. It gave the Muslims many advantages when it came to their cultural religious ways. It was the place where Muslims got together for prayer, to study, and celebrate. Islamic hypostyle buildings were made of stone, and most of the hypostyle mosques were square, or rectangular, the columns were put together using a grid pattern. The prayer hall has a roof, a courtyard, and open pillars along the sides. The hypostyle mosque structure supports the roof, which is flat, while the cool air circulates. It was a very unique building style that aided the Muslims in prayer. The hypostyle mosque was a place to hold large crowds

During the last eleven years I have worked at the department of motor vehicles. I have met many people from different backgrounds and cultures. While I worked at the Tempe office, I came across many people from the Middle East, mainly Arabs and people from Pakistan and India. It was through my dealings with Middle East people that I notice how friendly and accessible they are. It was then that an interest in finding more about this culture started. When I decided to visit a mosque as part this project I was not sure what to expect. My experience is divided in two, as I ended up visiting two different mosques. On Saturday January 24 around 12:45 pm I arrived at a mosque located in

Being a Muslim-American in post 9/11 America has been turbulent. Like most children, I longed to fit in and be accepted, but I also wanted to preserve my native cultural roots. The odds were against me as I struggled to find balance in a place that could barely tolerate me as a child, and would hold deep seated fear of me as an adult. In an attempt to combat this growing reality, I tried looking to the mosques. However, the local mosques were, instead of religious areas, cultural centers, and when the Afghan community in Chicago is non-existent, I remained confused as a Muslim in and out of the mosque.

September 11, 2001, one of the most infamous and controversial dates in the history of the United States will be engraved in the minds of millions forever and is once more a resurfacing issue. On this horrendous date in time, Islamic terrorists hijacked a pair of commercial airplanes and flew them into the Twin Towers, murdering thousands and causing millions in damage. Nearly a decade later, an Islamic religious group named the Cordoba Initiative is stirring up more trouble and is planning to construct a mosque within only blocks away from ground zero itself. This is an extremely offensive and distasteful decision and should not be allowed for three main reasons: it is a direct attempt to aggravate the American public,

According to CNN (2015), the increase development of rallies of religious discrimination of Anti-Mosque Activity is contributing to the vandalism of mosques and deliberate intent to harm others. In the year of 2015, a record-breaking high of 63 mosques were victimized. For instance, former United States Marine, Hakey Jr. was arrested and charged with discharging his firearm at the Meriden Mosque. The Meriden Mosque is located in Connecticut (NBC, 2015). Prior to executing his act, offender Hakey Jr. posted his hatred about Muslims on Facebook. His

Islamic rule spread over major areas of Africa, the Middle East, South, Southeast and Central Asia, Spain, and Southern Italy. Many Christians saw Islam as a religion of the sword. They have been very violent throughout their history. Arabian armies engaged in attacking the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. The First Crusade was launched in order to stop the Arabian invaders.

Muslim culture generally reflects the traditions and customs of Muslims that they adopt for a perfect and respectable life in the society according to the lessons of Quran. Muslim culture is a giant combination of diverse cultures, That’s because Muslims live in various countries all over the world. Most of the practices are common faiths and guidance for all Muslims no matter what country or even content they reside in.. These basic faiths and belives are based on the teachings of Islam. The Muslim culture is a subject of debate for many people who lives in different parts of the world and belong to diverse communities. Muslim culture represents the unification of brotherhood where all Muslims are bound to

"Islam" is derived from the Arabic root salaama meaning peace, purity, submission and obedience. Islam stands for making peace by submitting to the will of God and obeying His law. Jews and Christians view Islam as the latest of the world's great religions. However, worldwide Muslims (sometimes written "Moslems") understand their universal religion as the "final religion" and the "primal religion."

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.

For my paper I decided to choose the religion of Islam. I decided to pick this religion because of its fast growing rate. It is also different from what I am used to growing up with, so I was interested in learning more. I had learned some basic facts after the 9/11 event, but the Muslim religion and culture was still a mystery to me. Picking this topic has helped me learn more about Muslims and will help me better relate to them in my future work.

zid Mosque (after 1491), the Selim Mosque (1522), the Sehzade külliye (1548), and the Süleyman külliye (after 1550). They all have elevated clarity and logic and simplicity of design. A major characteristic of Ottoman mosques from the early period is the dominance of a central dome that covers a significant part of the prayer hall. The central dome increases dramatically in size and is often combined with a series of halfdomes and small domes that cascade from the central dome with the rule of Ottomans. A number of mosques have one, two, or four half-domes supporting the central dome. The domes in Ottoman architecture have a semi-circular flat profile.