Today I went to the Mosque!

[OkToBeTakei]

Not necessarily true for all Muslim paths (some would call them sects). Ismaelis (at least the ones I know) don't worship separately and women are also not required to cover their heads, although some choose to.

I think I mentioned it was Central Mosque.

[Guest Anonymous]

I have been on mosque tours too, and of course the guides are only speaking for their own particular customs and rules. In the same way Christian church people would.

Poor white-knickered lady :D

[OkToBeTakei]

I have been on mosque tours too, and of course the guides are only speaking for their own particular customs and rules. In the same way Christian church people would.

Poor white-knickered lady :D

Legend

[Inky]

Thank you for the link to that blog - I found it very interesting. I recently went to a "Women and their Faith" event hosted by a local muslim women's group with muslim, hindu, and christian speakers. While it was educational, I found that I left with more questions than I came with. (Which I thought of in the car on the way home - isn't that always the way!)

[frumpyjumpy]

while going through Religious Ed in High school, our Priest explained it the separation of men and woman in the mosque in a very understandable way. Since the prayers in the mosque are not only done sitting and standing, but rather with getting up and then bowing down, a lot of the men would get distracted if there were a lovely young lady with a lot of nice "ass" ets in front of them.

He was pretty cool, and basically brought down all religions, including his own (catholic) into such language well all could understand. He later left his church, because he feel in love and got married.

[SpeshulTaterTot]

This. Subtle does not make it better by dress or by participation.

I did not feel today was the right or appropriate place to discuss it. I actually as previously said came away with quite a lot of respect, but also a lot of huge questions. Specifically the gender segregation.

It really doesn't.

I'm sure they wouldn't have minded any questions if they were asked respectfully. At the open mosques I've been to, we were encouraged to ask questions. They always say people are scared of Islam because they don't know enough about it, and that's why they do these things.

[Boogalou]

while going through Religious Ed in High school, our Priest explained it the separation of men and woman in the mosque in a very understandable way. Since the prayers in the mosque are not only done sitting and standing, but rather with getting up and then bowing down, a lot of the men would get distracted if there were a lovely young lady with a lot of nice "ass" ets in front of them.

He was pretty cool, and basically brought down all religions, including his own (catholic) into such language well all could understand. He later left his church, because he feel in love and got married.

Yeah, that's usually the explanation that is given. However, it falls apart on several levels:

1. Why not put the men in the back behind a divider? After all, if they are the ones getting distracted why are the women getting punished for it?

2. What about LGBT men and women? They could get distracted in the gender segregated areas. This also doesn't acccount for people who are trans or have no gender identity at all. Where do they sit?

3. Why is anyone being put in the back at all? Why not put men and women on different sides (I still am not a big fan of this but at least it doesn't relegate women to the back).

[Sobeknofret]

I visited a mosque and a synagogue in 6th grade for Vacation Bible School (VBS is like a summer day camp, but obviously religion-themed... lot less intense than Jesus Camp though! I was Catholic, but the Lutheran and Methodist churches in my area held them too, sometimes together with us. The purpose of this tour was to highlight the similarities and differences between the Abrahamic religions and point out that we should work together). It was really interesting, the mosque especially because I did not know a lot about Islam. I've always enjoyed learning about different cultures and religions which is why I am interested in the fundies, as they are the extreme.

I'm doing something similar with my kid and a friend's kid. We're going to tour an Eastern Orthodox church soon, and after that the local mosque. It'll be interesting to see the cultural diversity like OkToBeTakei mentioned; we live in a university/tech town where there are lots of Muslim folks from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

[Lady_M]

OkToBeTakei, I've been picturing the scene in my mind and I'm amazed you were able to get through it without just losing it laughing :D . I'm not sure I could have managed.

That sounds really interesting to be able to visit a mosque like that (although that confrontational guy sounds like he kind of put a damper on the thing, which is too bad). I've done a great deal of reading on Islam, but have never been able to go visit for an open house of sorts like that. I did get the chance once to sit down with a Buddhist monk and have a conversation about Buddhism, types, practices, etc. I really enjoyed it - prior to that, I'd never really known anything about Buddhism, and it helped me to understand better what was going on and involved.

I think it's always good to understand as many religious beliefs and traditions as much as possible. I grew up with a close family member who is a Baha'i, and when I tell people that, it usually produces a very puzzled look as few people know what that religion is.