The Role And Roles Of The Mosque In Islam

Mecca was known as a trading city, for its camel caravans that would constantly visit, and an important religious shrine known as the Ka’ba which was economically beneficial since traders would pay to visit it and its other idols. Islam would begin with the teachings of Muhammad: monotheism, support for the weak and the poor, and that Muhammad was allah’s prophet. Muhammad would be unaccepted by the people of Mecca because his teachings threatened their economy and he wanted to eliminate idol worship. Muhammad fled to Medina and began to create a following known as the Ulma and later developed into a political leader. Eventually, Muhammad would return and conquer the city of Mecca, establishing Islam and destroying everything but the Ka’ba.

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.

Religious Islamic architecture is intricately related to Muslim prayer which is an obligation to do every day. The Dome of the Rock was said to be the first great Islamic building. The Muslims had taken the city of Jerusalem in 638 created the shrine of worship to commemorate the event and the triumph of Islam. The Dome of the rock, similar to the Acropolis, was built atop holy ground. Called the Noble Enclosure, the site was where the Hebrews built the

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.

By analyzing Rabbat’s article, the most popular and most important to the Islamic faith is The Dome of the Rock. This monumental structure stands high above the rest of the surrounding city with a large dome feature. The beginnings of the shrine began with Prophet Mohammad’s mission from Mecca to Jerusalem, and with his ascension from the rock into heaven, where principles of a new religion were set in place by God. (Rabbat) The most significant similarities between the Dome of the Rock and The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the dome structure compared to the anastasis

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,

However, despite Brick Lane Mosque being a place of worship for the followers of Islam and serving as a place where Muslims can come together and perform acts of devotion,

One of the most obvious aspects are the iconic domes at the central peak of each of the buildings. “The dome is, of course, a cosmic symbol in every religious tradition; and symbolically, in Islam the dome represents the vault of heaven in the same way as the garden prefigures Paradise” (Dickie 1). No matter if it’s a Christian or Islamic church, the dome will always symbolize the pathway to the infinite world of happiness, where God is. Another parallelism between the two great sacred churches is the repetition of art that’s use to get across a message, that is, God is always there. During those times, not many people have the ability to read and write, so in order for them to communicate and pass down ideas, they use art and objects to express everything.

The two Islamic structures are the Dome of the rock and alhambra. It is likely that both structures were built for the same purpose. The Dome of the Rock has no distinct known purpose that modern investigators have discovered but it was likely to have been built with the purpose of impressing the region with the power and the emergence of Islamic control. alhambra was built as a palace complex to house the leaders of Granada and into likely establish the dynasty of the Nasrid. Although built to show the historic power of the time, these buildings continue to represent the emergence and development of the Islamic culture through representation of powerand aesthetic beauty.

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

1.used to pray in an open court shaded along the kibla (the wall facing the holy city of Mecca. Direction prayer is in)

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.

Kaaba – a sacred building made of “black stone” in the shape of a cube in Mecca and when in prayer Muslins turn in this direction (Dictionary)

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.