Mosque

The mosque, in its most basic form, is simply a clean area designated for prayers. Mosques throughout the world have taken on various architectural forms reflecting local cultures. They range from detached pavilions in China and elaborate courtyards in India to massive domes in Turkey and glass and steel structures in the United States.

As you walk into a mosque, you may be impressed by the architecture and the calligraphic decoration based on the Arabic script or by the lightning and the spaciousness of this place where Muslims have gathered for centuries for the five daily prayers and other religious services. The Friday prayer, the one that is optional for women and obligatory for men to perform in the mosque, is a weekly congregational prayer which includes a sermon (khutbah) by the imam addressing social issues as well as directing Muslims to a virtuous life. The imam, for example, recites the following verse from the Qur’an at the end of sermons: “Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kinsfolk, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful.” (Nahl, 16/90)

In Islam, it is not necessary to be in a mosque to pray since God is not confined to a building, as Prophet Muhammad said, “The whole earth is a mosque.” Having said this, a traditional mosque consists of a domed building and a minaret from where the call to prayer is performed. There is no altar, just the simple space to pray together and often a mihrab (niche) to indicate the direction of Mecca which Muslims face to for their prayers.