Visit to a Mosque

I have attended many Baptist church services throughout my life, but I have never ventured out of my comfort zone and explored how other religions practice their faiths. So I decided to visit the Islamic Association of Tarrant County off of Fletcher Avenue in Fort Worth. I attended a prayer service on a Friday afternoon. I was a little nervous about walking up to door of the church, but I took a deep breath and walked inside. I was with a small group of people that were also observing the service.

I had already called ahead and knew the dress code that I would have to wear to even attend the service. I wore long pants a long sleeve shirt and I purchased a light colored Shaw to wrap around my hair so that only my face was revealed. I was not suppose to wear bright colors. As soon as I entered the building, I had to remove the shoes I was wearing. The were placed on a shelf with all of the other shoes that had been removed from the people already in the service.

We were lead into the large prayer hall to observe the prayer service that was about to begin. The hall was very large and the ceilings were extremely high. There was no furniture anywhere in the room and everyone, including me, sat down on the floor. Many of the men had small black hats on their heads and wore dull colored clothing-most in pants and a long sleeve shirt. The women had on loose clothing and they all wore a Shaw that covered up their hair and only revealed their face. The older children where dressed like their parents, but the young children had on more casual clothes.

The room was faced northeast, towards Mecca, where Muslims must face when they pray. At the front of the room there was a small area cut into the front wall. It was curved and a few feet deep. There was a male prayer leader standing to the right of the curved niche. Behind him there was a single line of men, all kneeling on the ground and facing towards the front. There were some young boys standing with the men. At the very back of the room, the women and children knelt in a straight line. There was a very large gap between the men and the women and children. I looked this up when I got home and realized it is an Islamic law that men and women be separated in the prayer hall.

The leader greeted the people in Islam and the service involved a lot of chanting and bowing down. The niche at the front of the room accented the leaders voice to where the women in back could easily follow his lead and hear what he was saying. The service seemed very routine and it looked as though everyone had down this a thousand times, which they probably had. The children followed along the best that they could and they did a pretty good job.

Everyone I meet that day was friendly and seemed as if they wanted the observers there to educate themselves on the their religion. They all seemed to be friendly with one another and shared a camaraderie. Overall, visiting the Mosque made me see how devoted Muslims are to their faith. They visit their Mosque often and share a bond with the other people who worship there. Seeing the Mosque opened up my eyes and made me realize that Muslim people are very similar to many other people, but most of their daily activities are centered around their faith.