Islamic Mosque

When I first found out that we would be going to visit an Islamic mosque, I began to imagine tall golden spires and domes. Therefore when we drove up and saw the one, small, blue minneret, I was a little disapointed. Even on the inside of the building I was disapointed to see that there was no fancy, colorful decorations. However I must say that the building, though lacking in beauty, is very practical for many different purposes.

I did find it interesting that like the synagogue we saw, the building was more of a community center than just a worship space. There were class rooms and even a gymnasium. Since this puts an emphasis on community, this led me to think that community is also an important aspect of Islam.

When we got to walk into their big prayer room, I was struck by how extremely plain the room was. Just plain white walls, red plush carpeting, and an archway facing towards mecca. There was nothing in the space that led one's eye to wander upward towards heaven. The sole focus point instead keeps people's minds on Mecca and the Ka'Ba. Perhaps this only is the case in this smaller mosque but still I found that observation to be very interesting.

I also didn't remember that Muslim's remove their shoe's when they enter to pray. I was reminded of the story of Moses in the Old Testament with the burning bush. When God first spoke to him through the bush He told Moses to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. If I was thinking during our tour, I should have asked if Muslims remove their shoes because they consider it to be holy ground.

Anyway, overall I was very curious about the mosque. In a age where one rarely turns on the news and hears about Islam one way or another it was interesting to get to see the actual inside of a mosque. It gave some insight on the culture and a real face to people that we so often hear about and rarely get to meet in real life.