Islamic Center of Worship

Islamic Center of Worship

Place of worship refers to a consecrated space or designed structure where a group of people or individuals performs the religious duties, devotions, and veneration. Various names are used to refer to the places of worship used by multiple religions; for instance, Temples, mosques, synagogues, and churches are all structures established as places of worship for different faiths. The religious architecture articulates the aesthetic choices, technological and economic capacity, as well as the religious beliefs of the people that created the structure. During my fieldwork, I visited the Islamic place of worship, referred to as the mosque (the Islamic Center of America). The mosque is positioned in the Dearborn, Michigan, Islamic Center of America is the biggest mosque in North America. The Islamic Center of America was established in 1962; the founder of the mosque was known as the Muhammed Jawad Chirri. The essay is going to incorporate a detailed discussion about the Islamic Center of America.

The Islamic Center of America contained some peculiar features; some of the features that characterized it includes the following; qubba, mihrab, Minaret, and the sahn. The courtyard (Sahn) was among the significant features of the mosque. The primary function of Sahn is to hold the whole population of the male all over the town. Women were only supposed to attend the mosque during the Friday prayers. Sahn contained a fountain whose water was used for ritual cleansing; the act of ritual cleansing was done prior to the prayers (Ahmed, p. 86). .

The mosque also contained another feature regarded as the Minaret. Minaret was a tower through which the Prayers was announced. The other element that characterized the mosque was the Qubba, which acted as a symbolizes the dome of heaven.

The roof covered the outer part of the mosque, carpets and mats covered the floor inside the mosque. There was a particular platform (minbar) set beside the mihrab; the prayer leaders used mihrab to convey the sermon on Friday. The mosque had distinct parts set aside for the women and male, men and women did not worship together; they were separated by curtains (Ahmed, p. 86). The worshipers in the mosque conducted a ritual cleansing prior to the prayers at the ziyadah. The mosque did not have any statues, pictures, or even the ritual objects; instead, the walls were adorned with the Quran verses, patterned mosaics, and the tags of Muhammed.

The worshipers in the Islamic Center of America were easier to identify since they had specific clothes for men and women, the women wore Niqab, Niqab involved a blend of the head casing and the scarf which covered the women’s face excluding the eyes (Safi, p.36). On the other hand, men wearing were referred to as the Ghustra and Egal; it involved a square headscarf with the rope bland. The worshippers (Muslims) used the Arabic language; Arabic was also the language used in their holy book referred to as the Quran. The worshippers did not use any objects during the prayers; they believed that the use of objects could divert the intention of the prayer, which was to communicate with God. The worshippers only needed a clean place to conduct the prayers; the place for prayers was covered with the carpets and mats (Daniels, p. 61). The worshippers believed that it was critical to remove their shoes while entering the mosque. The main reason why they removed the shoes before entering the prayer hall was that the prayers involved many prostrations, for instance, kneeling, bending, and enlisting their head on the ground, hence the area needed to be tidy.

The Islamic Center of America taught the worshippers that there is only one God and that they should never worship any other gods. The worshippers conducted their prayers looking at the Mecca; they performed the prayers five times per day (Safi, p.36). The worshippers performed the prayers during the morning, at noon, in the mid-afternoon, sunset, and in the evening. The worshippers devoted a particular portion of their earnings to the members of the community who were in need. The worshippers also undertook fasting during the periods of Ramadhan. They were never supposed to eat food during this period.

In conclusion, the worshippers in the Islamic Center of Worship conducted their prayers following a specified schedule. One of the things that impressed me most about their mode of worship was how they took excellent care of the prayer hall. They always made sure that the place was clean and never adorned the walls of the mosque with any ritual objects. I also liked their hospitality; they were welcomed with great pleasure despite that I was from a different religious background. The worshippers had a specific mode of dressing, which made it easier to identify them, their style of dressing aimed at covering their entire bodies, especially for the women. The worshippers also shared part of their earning with the needy persons in the community. I liked the way they were committed towards the prayers; they conducted prayers five times per day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Ahmad, Zohaib. “The Revival of Islamic Civilization.” Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization (JITC) 8.2 (2018): 80-94.

Daniels, Timothy P. “Blackamerican Muslim Scholars and Leaders in New York City: Sidelining American Islamophobia and Misrepresentations.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 36-4: Fall 2019 36 (2019): 61.

Safi, Louay, et al. American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 36-1: Winter 2019. International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), 2019.