Islam

Visiting a mosque for the first time for any non-Muslim can be quite a daunting and intimidating experience if one doesn't know exactly what to expect. A mosque is the place of prayer for Muslims within the Islamic faith. It is a house of prayer, one very much like that of churches and cathedrals for Christians, Synagogues for Jews, and temples for Hindus and Buddhists, but with its own distinct rules, rituals, and services. Mosques are not only the center of religious prayer amongst Muslims, but rather also serve as the center of any Muslim community and society in the area. Muslims, however, don't always have to pray in mosques, other than Friday, the Muslim holy day of the week, much like Sunday in Christianity. The reason why Friday is the holy day of the week for Muslims is because the Prophet Muhammad was born on a Friday. The Prophet Mohammed taught that prayers are obligatory at least five times a day, and subsequently, can be held anywhere as long as it is sincere to Allah. The word "Islam," in Arabic, means "submission to the will of Allah." The Islamic Mosque, and or Masjid, as it is referred to in Arabic, is a place where Muslims bow before Allah declaring their obedience to His will. The history of the Islamic Mosque dates back to the time of the Prophet. Mosques usually contain a place for washing and cleansing oneself before prayer. This cleansing in Arabic is referred to as "Wudu," a physical and spiritual purification of oneself before submitting themselves to Allah in prayer.

I took a trip to a local nearby mosque in Miami two weeks ago with a Muslim friend of mine on Friday. His name was Ali, and he is a Pakistani-American. The mosque was called "Masjid AL Noor," and is located in downtown Miami. It was a Sunni-Islamic mosque. Sunni Muslims comprise the worldwide majority of Muslim adherents, as opposed to Shi'ite Muslims, whom comprise the minority of Muslim adherents. However, the Sunni/Shi'ite schism within Islam is for the most part more political, rather than that of religious. My friend, whom I came with to the Sunni-Islamic mosque was actually a mainstream Shi'ite Muslim. He usually goes to this particular mosque because its closer to where he lives. According to him, a mosque is a mosque, and Muslims, all Muslims, are brothers in faith, regardless of sect. Friday prayers, also known as "Salat e Juma" in the Quran, is mandatory for all Muslims to pray, especially in the Mosque. The Quran, the Islamic holy book revered by all Muslims as the actual text revealed to the Prophet through the angel Gabriel from Allah, functions very much the same way as the Bible does for Christians, the Torah does for Jews, as well as the Vedas do for Hindus.

We went to the afternoon service, which is the second prayer of the day out of the five obligatory prayers that Muslims are required to pray. In Arabic, it is called "Salaat e Zohur." It was on a Friday, the 25th of March, "Salaat e Juma," the mandatory Friday day of prayer at the Mosque for Muslims, and it started promptly at 1:30 p.m. Since this was my first time at a Mosque, I had very little clue on what to do, and how to do it. Luckily, my Muslim friend who I came with, told me to stay with him, go wherever he goes, and do exactly how he does. Very much like a priest in a church, a rabbi in a synagogue, or a pundit in Hindu mandir, a Muslim mosque has an imam to lead the service. Before the actual prayer service, I saw men washing and cleansing themselves in a special washroom before entering the prayer area. As previously mentioned, this practice is called the "Wudu" in Arabic, and is performed to cleanse oneself both physically and spiritually before submitting to Allah in prayers. The prayer service started by a recitation of what in Arabic is referred to as the "Adan," and or, also known as the Muslim call to prayer. It was performed by someone other than the imam, all the way in the front of the mosque. He stood up and put his hands to his ears and recited "Allah u Akbar," which means "God is great" four times and continued on to other parts of this call to prayer. He recited it in almost a singing voice that fueled spirituality within and amongst the other members of the mosque.

After the call to prayer was completed, all of the members of the mosque stood up in a humble posture. The arrangement was that everyone within the mosque stood shoulder to shoulder with everyone else in lines from the front of the mosque to the back, and beyond. The reason behind this "shoulder to shoulder" setup is to reaffirm that all Muslims, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, age, culture, and linguistic differences, are all equal within the eyes of God, and are all "brothers in faith." By the end of the call to prayer, the mosque was completely filled of worshippers that extended from the front of the mosque, all the way to the back of the mosque. Everyone had to remove their shoes before entering the mosque. This was done out of respect for upholding the sacredness and holiness for the house of God, as well as out of cleanliness for the Mosque. Men and women were kept separate and out of sight from one another in the mosque. Before one enters the mosque, they must be dressed accordingly. Women must have their hair and skin covered. A man's attire is somewhat less strict. Everyone is encouraged to dress modestly and be humble and pious. Most of the men had some kind of beard, but not all. Some of them also wore a small prayer cap on their head, much like the yarmulkes that many Jews wear.

The mosque was very beautiful in its architecture both from the outside, as well as the inside. It did not have any sculptures or pictures as many churches do of Christ or Mary, but rather, it had a simple decorative and ornamental theme to it. Islamic Arabic calligraphy spanned the walls, as well as photos of Mecca, Islam's holiest shrine. Muslims are not allowed to have any kind of drawings, paintings, or sculptures within mosques. This is because eventually people might start to revere these man-made objects, and worship them. Anything man-made is not pure, and is not perfect. The Quran states that throughout the ages, mankind has worshipped everything imaginable from the sun, the moon, wind, fire,