Islam Essay -- essays research papers

Visiting a mosque for the first metre for either non- Moslem can be quite a daunting and intimidating consider if one doesnt know exactly what to expect. A mosque is the fundament of plea for Muslims within the Islamic faith. It is a house of prayer, one genuinely a great deal 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 tho the center of religious prayer amongst Muslims, but sort of also lot as the center of any Muslim community and society in the area. Muslims, however, dont always have to pray in mosques, new(prenominal) 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(p) on a Friday. The Prophet Mohammed taught that prayers are obligatory at to the lowest degree five times a day, and subsequently, can be held anywhere as long as it is sincere to Allah. The word Islam, in Arabic, means entranceway to the will of Allah. The Islamic Mosque, and or musjid, as it is referred to in Arabic, is a place where Muslims bow ahead 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 religious 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 SunniIslamic mosque. Sunni Muslims invent the worldwide majority of Muslim adherents, as opposed to Shiite Muslims, whom comprise the minority of Muslim adherents. However, the Sunni/Shiit e 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 Shiite Muslim. He usually goes to this particular mosque because its immediate 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 fo... ... keep up with their prayers, give alms (charity), pay their dues (zakat), the essence of modesty, as closely as the frequent recitation of the Quran. The imam recited ayahs, which are passages from the Quran, and thusly gave an English translations of it. The mosque was comprised of a very diversified crowd of all backgrounds and ethnicities. unmatchable saw some Middle Eastern people, many Indians and other southwestward Asians, people from the Far Pacific and Oriental looking, African Americans, as well as some Anglo Saxons. It felt like a tightly ruck up diversified community. My experience at the mosque was that of one of an extraordinary one. I didnt feel like an outsider, nor uncomfortable at all, but rather, on the contrary, I felt quite welcomed. I find the Islamic religion very fascinating and unique. I am always keen and open to information about new ideas, belief systems, and faiths. One acquires a greater discernment and perspective of others in how they think, and how they view the world and this life. Overall, I think that this was a rather rewarding experience because it broadened my horizons on the Islamic faith as a whole, something, which I had very little knowledge about former to.