Last Friday, Kyle and I attended a Muslim worship service up in Salt Lake City. Since a big part of the culture in Hyderabad is influenced by Islam, we thought we'd share a bit.
As Kyle entered the main floor of the mosque, I and the other women, with scarves covering our heads, made our way around to another door that lead upstairs. We took off our shoes to show reverence for the sacred place and headed upstairs to the balcony of a very open room.
The carpet looked as if identical individual prayer rugs had been laid out neatly across the floor. The women come to this spot separate from the men so that both can worship with less distraction (you cannot see because of a partial glass wall, but you can hear) . Some women were already seated, and as other women came in they picked a spot and often begin praying.
Watching their prayers was beautiful. I do not know particulars, but the prayer involves a pattern of standing, sitting, and prostrating, accompanied by a specific prayer in Arabic and hand movements. It was really neat to see the devotion in it, and to see children get involved at the end. If you want to know more about the prayers, here's a BBC site with more on the movements and words.
The first part of the service was not strictly part of the worship service - it involved the Imam (the religious leader of the mosque) giving a sort of speech on principles of Islam and living a good life (this is when women prayed on their own). After maybe a half-hour of this, there were some announcements, and then the official worship service began. All the women moved near the front of the room and prayed together as the Imam recited the service in Arabic.
After the service, I got to talk with a few of the women. It was neat to see all that we had in common, and to understand their beliefs a little better. One of them explained that men are required to come every week to represent their family and bring back spiritual strength to them, but women are not held to the same responsibility as they have many obligations in the home and can pray at home.
It was a really neat experience, and I am looking forward to more in India!
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| In front of the Mosque in the wind. You can't see the prettiest parts, but it gives you a feel. And one day I'll learn to wear that scarf like a pro... |
The carpet looked as if identical individual prayer rugs had been laid out neatly across the floor. The women come to this spot separate from the men so that both can worship with less distraction (you cannot see because of a partial glass wall, but you can hear) . Some women were already seated, and as other women came in they picked a spot and often begin praying.
Watching their prayers was beautiful. I do not know particulars, but the prayer involves a pattern of standing, sitting, and prostrating, accompanied by a specific prayer in Arabic and hand movements. It was really neat to see the devotion in it, and to see children get involved at the end. If you want to know more about the prayers, here's a BBC site with more on the movements and words.
The first part of the service was not strictly part of the worship service - it involved the Imam (the religious leader of the mosque) giving a sort of speech on principles of Islam and living a good life (this is when women prayed on their own). After maybe a half-hour of this, there were some announcements, and then the official worship service began. All the women moved near the front of the room and prayed together as the Imam recited the service in Arabic.
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| Inside the London Central Mosque. You can see the rectangular segments in the rug and the openness that all Mosques have in common. Credit to Wikipedia. |
It was a really neat experience, and I am looking forward to more in India!
Neat! Wish we could have gone with you. I'm impressed with your preparations in getting ready!
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