The Importance Of The Mosque In The Muslim Community

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.

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.

She always dreamt of building her own mosque one day. Growing up, Hasna had a wonderful experience attending the mosque with her family. However, over time, she became aware of gender disparities that no embodied the spirit of inclusivity she longed for. Upon the completion of her education at University of California Berkeley and University of Southern California, Hasna decide to begin the initiative for a women’s mosque that would highlight and empower female scholars. “According to a Gallup Poll, Muslim women are the second most educated female religious demographic in America,” said Hasna. She began by documenting her ideas, gathering support by giving talks on the need for the space, and held a townhall meeting to gather opinions address concerns. With a board forming and the help of the Pico Union Project, the women were able to organize their first Jumah prayer, led by Edina Lakovic, on January 30th, 2015. Being a highly acclaimed speaker, “her involvement has brought a lot of attention to the mosque” Hasna

The first reason you will probably be surprised will be by the place itself. Whilst many mosques seem grand and splendid from the outside, there is, in fact, very little to see inside a mosque. The prayer hall, where the public worship takes place five times a day, is actually very plain, because of the nature of Islam itself. You will find no statues, nor paintings, nor depictive stained glass. There is no altar, nor elaborate robes, nor candlesticks.

The exterior of the New Brunswick Islamic Center is incredibly misleading. The outside appears similar to a factory, yet, it’s the inside that suggests something holier. The inner appearance of the religious center is not very extravagant either, yet, it has a respectful atmosphere to it. Everyone acknowledges each other with a warm greeting, and everyone acts friendly. The building itself only was composed of a lobby and a musallah¸ or ritual hall. The women sat separated from the men, and everyone was required to remove their shoes. The age distribution was very spread out. Many young children accompanied their parents to prayer, while many older worshippers came alone. In fact, the lowest subset age-wise were college and high school aged students. The dress of the worshippers was perhaps the most varied. Some were in traditional garb, some were in basketball shorts and snapbacks, and some even fused traditional robes with baseball caps.

Voluntarily entering a sacred space of another religion at first was imitating. I did not know what to except or how I would be perceived as an outsider. However, the community welcomed me and were supportive of me attempting to participate as I remained quiet, just as everyone else, which made me feel extremely comfortable. As I sat in the back I was captivated by just how attentive people were. There was not one second were I felt bored by the ritual it was like an entire new world. I had never been to a Mosque before only other Christian churches, some of which have a tendency to shun newcomers rather than embrace them. The aspect that made this a unique experience for me was the emotion in the service that many Catholic and Christian rituals lack. If the congregation was taken to the UCC I think that they would lose interest quickly because of the way Mass can be extremely monotonous. Being able to observe a ritual that embraces so much more emotion and fluidity helped me understand the sacredness of religious rituals that are not my

Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions in the United States due to stereotypes. Not many Americans have actually taken the time to learn firsthand about the Islamic religion. Typically Muslims pray five times a day;however they attend mosque on Fridays. I have never been inside a mosque and I was very surprised with what I saw. Since visiting the mosque I learned important lessons that I will remember for years to come.

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,

Truly, the entrances made me feel welcome, especially with the wide glass door. Once I step inside, I saw that they have on the right side the ablution facilities and the bathrooms. Also, at the left side, there were shoes shelves, office glass window, and the aisle that takes you to the office. Moreover, the desire of cleanliness is to take off your shoes before getting into the prayer hall. Because shoes are not allowed to be worn anywhere rather than the cloakroom. Finally, in front of me is the prayer hall. After I took off my shoes and did the ablution which called “Wudu”, I got inside. The prayer hall was big as what I expected. The floor was totally covered with a special carpet. Furthermore, by facing north, there were “Mihrab,” which is the semicircular niche in the wall. Mihrab demonstrates the “Qibla” or the direction that Muslims should face while praying. Also, it’s where the Imam addresses the congregation and lead them in the prayers. The Qibla wall is made from marble. However, the walls of the mosque have only a few items so it doesn’t distract the

The concept of gender roles, connects to the mosque. Gender role is how a woman and man present themselves in society (388). The reason why gender roles connects to the mosque because the women and men section are separated by a curtain, that men only socialize with men, and women only socialize with women. Women have the role to only socialize with women, and vice versa for men too. The people who go the mosque are raised from a young age that boys talk to boys, and girls talk to girls; and that girls have to wear hijab when going to the mosque. The concept of gender role is that children begin in young age to realize and be aware of their gender roles (375-376). According to little “Children acquire these roles through socialization, a process

As of November 14th, 2015 a fire broke out at the Kwartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque. This was a supposedly a hate crime in response to the Paris Attack which was committed by the ISIS group, on the night of Friday, November 13th, This may have resulted in Islamic phobia, as a way to blame the violence which is widespread amongst the world at this given time. Muslim members have placed their roots into the Kwartha community, and an integration into surrounding neighborhoods, as the mosque holds religious open houses attended by church goers and politicians. At this time, support from churches and political leaders are ongoing, however the main question lies where will families go for prayers, which are observed five times

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.

"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.