On April 21 I went to visit the Mosque in Ames, Iowa with my religion class. This visit was my first time ever visiting or even seeing a Mosque in person. When we first pulled up to the Mosque there was a sign in the front of the parking lot that said, “Darul Arqum Islamic Center” with what I can only assume is Arabic on the bottom saying the same thing. The exterior of the Mosque was a white building that is about two stories tall with a blue dome on the top. The prayer area seemed to be located in the raised portion of the building. The Mosque is nestled in a suburb that is located next to a main stretch of road. I feel the location of the Mosque helps show the community network that Muslims try to represent and create. When I first entered …show more content…
The men that I saw coming in the room to pray came from all walks of life, some wore mechanic uniforms while others wore a white shirt and tie. Most of the men that came in were dark skinned but I did see a few white men in the prayer area. It was really nice to see that when some of the men entered the Mosque they would go up to other men they knew and would greet them and shake their hands. The men were very kind to each other and would shift to make room for their fellow brothers when they were praying to Allah. With this kindness shown towards each other, I got the feeling of a close-knit family unit which is why I think that they have the Mosque in a suburb neighborhood rather than a busy main street next to big stores and shopping centers. From what I saw with the men and the Imam, it seemed that they were very close to each other but I could tell they respected the Imam. This observation is from a very limited interaction between one of the members of the Mosque and the Imam.
Some practices I noticed were that they took off their shoes before they entered the Mosque, some of the members also washed their feet, arms, and face before they entered the Mosque to make themselves clean. When they prayed they faced Mecca and bowed down towards it as I learned they do in class. They were taught from the Qur’an by a high member of the Mosque or an Imam.
…show more content…
The majority of people I saw at the Mosque were dark skinned, the average person you would think of as being Muslim. I also saw some African-Americans and some Caucasians in the crowd but not nearly as many as I saw of the Arabic people. Even the variety of the types of clothing they wore surprised me. I saw people in blue collar clothing, jeans and t-shirts, I saw some gentlemen in sweatpants, and I even saw some men in white collar clothing. I even saw some younger men in long robes that were dark blue or black. I should have known there would be a variety of people who are Muslim but we never get the variety from what we are shown on television from the
In the article “Modern-Day Witch Hunts”, Jamie Dailey focuses the attention on problems that Muslim Americans commonly face on a day-to-day basis. He first paints a picture by comparing the violent acts performed on Muslims to the Salem Witch trial in 1692. The Salem Witch trials resulted in 19 deaths of innocent individuals, because they were accused of witchcraft. Dailey goes on to explain in America, the type of persecution Muslims endure has many forms. A more recent controversy towards this religion involves the building of the Ground Zero Mosque in central New York. The name of this building is very misleading, especially to the eyes of an American. Even though this structure is actually built a few blocks away from where the former World Trade Center stood, problems have still risen from the public. Americans often mistake Muslims as the group of people who had performed acts of terrorism on American soil, when it was actually an Islamic group known as Al Qaeda. Mosques all across the United States started being vandalized by people protesting against their religion. This article shows how irrational fear can corrupt the thoughts of people.
After years of gathering at each other’s homes to perform congregational prayers, Azhar Ali Shah and Majid Qureshi, two founding members of the small group, decided that a proper mosque was needed to accommodate the growing community, which was now at about 40+ members. Mr. Shah held a meeting with the other Muslims and announced a plan to begin collecting funds to finance the purchase of a building to be used as a mosque. It was necessary to collect the money upfront because in Islam, interest (on loans, etc.) is not permitted. In 1974, after almost two years of collecting donations from various sources, enough funding was on hand to purchase a former residence that would be used as a mosque. This mosque was located on McMillan Avenue near Clifton Avenue in the University of Cincinnati area.
membersip to those who are black. the beliefs of traditional Islam, however, state that all
First, literature shows that it is very important to stand up for and help people who need it. In “The Grand Mosque of Paris”, the Muslims were kind
Goodstein, Laurie. "Across Nation, Mosque Projects Meet Opposition." The New York Times 7 August 2010: 1. Web. 17 November 2013. .
Some were less religious in the new land, but most became even more connected to their faith when they came to the United States. They wanted to have a piece of their lives that was familiar to them on their new journey. They organized familiar rituals and spent their time at the mosque. As many immigrants that came to America, the Muslim people needed to establish a base to rely on. On September 11, 2001, things took a turn for the worse.
The Middle East – a region of One Thousand and One Nights, but also a place of the religion of Islam, which has spread into many European countries over the past few decades. The United Kingdom is one of the countries, where the religion of Islam plays a major role. According to the census in 2011, 4.8 per cent of people living in The UK reported to be Muslims and what is more, nearly half of them were born there. The largest increase of this religion was in the age groups under 25. These figures reveal, that the religion of Islam is the second most widespread religion in the United Kingdom, right next
Many non-muslims after 9/11 have judged and criticized Muslims for their ethnic, religion, and the Islamic terrorist groups in America. (4) Surprisingly, most Muslim Americans in our population are completely against Isis. Together as a country, we must create more unity and peace within Muslim communities in the United States. Building Mosques for Muslims is a great way to bring communities together! A Mosque is a Muslim place of worship like a church. (1) The first Mosque structure built in America, was in North Dakota, 1929.”The number of Mosques built in the United States has risen up to seventy-four percent since 2000 and there are over two-thousand Mosques built today. (1) “Mosques help Muslims integrate in U.S. society, and in fact have a very productive role in bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States.” Mosques encourage social and political speech. (5) “Many American Muslim leaders and non-Muslim organizations have spoke out against terrorism and extremist violence.” Working together to prevent terrorism plays an important factor in uniting Muslims and non-Muslims. American will continue to help increase unity with Muslims and non-Muslims across our
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.
In the early 1930’s, in Detroit, when the Nation of Islam was initially founded it was not really widely known. It was a very secluded and introverted religion and community. It was not until they came under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad that the Nation of Islam became a household name in the early 1960’s. The Nation of Islam, during the 60’s, was one of the forerunners for African American unity. They strove for a separate black community. They wanted to be completely separated from the white community only because, according to their beliefs, white people were all devils. Elijah Muhammad being influenced by many people and factors in his life led the Nation of Islam to the point where many blacks started to look toward Islam as a way out. The Nation provided an escape from the harsh racial treatment and discrimination that was going on during the time. The brutality of the police is a great example. Within the Nation, however, some political moves were also taken towards blacks acquiring their civil and human rights. The Nation’s efforts seemed to be at it’s all time high from 1960-1965 during the time Muhammad and Malcolm X, as his right hand man, led the Nation. After that time period however, the nation seemed to fall apart. Once Malcolm X was dismissed from the Nation, the Nation and it’s followers seemed to become a bit quieter. It was more than likely due to the fact that after Muhammad’s death, the Nation split into different paths and even in a new direction.
Committing to religious beliefs is one of the strongest factors influencing the preservations of a Muslim identity. A mosque has a huge role in society and it has to maintain this. Generally, a mosque is somewhere where people can come to pray and contemplate. It is a place away from all the hustle from our day to day busy lives.
On the board on Monday morning, there were numbers one through five and they each had a religion written next to them. 1 was Hinduism, 2 was Christianity, 3 was Judaism, 4 was Buddhism, and I was lucky enough to get 5: Islam. Oh, I know so much about Islam culture and their religion, are you kidding? I don’t even know where Islam is. I’m just kidding, it’s not a country. There are many differences between Islam and the United states like our religion, clothes, and food, and becoming a Christian or a Muslim, but Islam is the second largest religion in the world, so it’s important to a lot of people. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Becoming a Muslim is not an easy process. You must do a long list of tasks. After you become a Muslim you must do everything in your power to try to have a good Muslim lifestyle.
A mosque is generally a very symbolic place for a Muslim, being a humble way for Muslims to recreate pure divine presence on earth. The primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer. Nevertheless, mosques are known around the world nowadays for their Islamic architecture but most importantly for its general vitality to the Muslim Ummah (community).
There was lots of interesting stuff to see both outside and the inside. The build was very much like the house. I guess it makes sense, since it is here in US, and the weather is pretty cold. Usually in a mosque there towers rising form the mosque. They were round and long and covered with the pointed room. It is where adhan is called; adhan is a islamic call to prayer. And the building has the dome rooftop. The mosque I went to was very plain looking. From the front it looked like a house. It was kind of long, and it had lawn around it, with beautiful trees and flowers planted. From the inside, the building is very plan. As soon as you enter the building there was a shoe rack, where everyone took of their shoes. And then there was a prayer hall, where the warship takes place five times a day. The prayer hall is also called musalla. The prayer hall was pretty plain; there was literally no furniture in the room. There were some chairs for the elderly people, and a book shelf filled with Quran and other islamic religious books. The prayer hall walls were plain as well, except some part where the walls ware decorated with the writings from Quran in Arabic. Other than that, there was no paintings, statues, or altar that caches your attention except one little part of the wall. That one little part of the wall was Mihrab. Mihrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque, which indicates the direction of the
Myself coming from a Catholic family, this was all new to me. By learning about the background of the Islamic people and religion, it made me see how close Muslims are to one another. Being a Catholic, one is supposed to attend church once a week to pray and worship. Most people that call themselves Catholic don’t even make the effort to do that little. Being Muslim is more than religion; it’s a community. It’s a very intense religion and not as la...