Inside The Mosque

Since 9-11 Middle Eastern men and women have been placed under a microscope, but examined with clouded lenses. People have made many assumptions about Islam that are very racist in nature. The biggest problem (aside from the prejudice) is that people do not actually know what the religion of Islam is about, what the Quran says, or what the main principles of this religion are. Originally, I planned to visit a mosque, a synagogue, and a Buddhist temple, but I felt the misunderstandings people have for Middle Eastern men and women was more prevalent. Instead of trying to convince people that being racist is wrong, providing information on what a typical weekly service is like at a mosque should provide honest information for people to reference.

I decided to visit the Diyanet Center of America in Goddard, MD, a beautiful Turkish style mosque that acts as a safe-haven for Muslim families to flock to when practicing their religion. There’s not only a mosque, but a cultural center, a restaurant, and even a bathhouse! 

People are even able to live on-site permanently in their residential housing options! All-in-all, the Diyanet Center of America is a central place for Muslim people to come together and feel comfortable being who they are and carrying out their religious practices.

Jumu’ah services normally begin Fridays at 1pm. When you first walk up the stairs into the open-air courtyard, you are in awe of the spectacular architecture that makes you feel as though you stepped out of Maryland and into Turkey. 

The understated blue and gold against the white walls promote calm serenity. It is respectful if you are female to cover yourself and your hair before entering the sanctuary so wear something long sleeved and floor length if you are female and intend to visit.

The first step is to wash your hands, face, arms, legs, and feet before entering the sanctuary Wudu. At this mosque, there is a fountain in the middle of the courtyard that people use to complete this task. 

Before stepping on the carpeted area, people remove their shoes as well so bring a pair of socks to be polite. The inner temple is just as incredible as the outer courtyard. 

At this point the men file in towards the front of the mosque, nearest the speaker and the women towards the back on either side of the room.

While people are still filing in, young boys are up front singing scripture from the Quran one at a time, these snippets are called Nat. It does not matter what time people arrive, the first thing they do is complete the traditional bow and pray. When 1:30 rolls around, the speaker begins a nat of his own then moves on to give his sermon, first in Arabic and then in English. Once his sermon is over he sings another nat. At the end, everyone stands up and completes the traditional bow as they follow along with the prayer. The men would occasionally respond to what the speaker said. Afterwards, people leave or continue to pray on their own terms.

That is all that happens during a typical Jumu’ah. The sermon was very like sermons I have heard in a Christian church. Preaching on righteousness, honesty, and right vs wrong. There was nothing sinister or suspicious about it. The Nats were beautiful and it must take strong vocal ability to be able to sing them the way they do which is impressive at such young ages.

At the end of the day, a Jumu’ah is the same as any other service. The only difference is the language its spoken in. hopefully, this will provide insight for those curious enough to research the truth before inventing it.