The Mosque

Mosques are an integral part of Islamic society. Although primarily meant for divine worship, mosques
have also traditionally served as cultural centers. Mosques can be hired out for weddings, birthdays, or
even circumcision parties.

While men are required to go mosque, women are certainly allowed to go if they choose. Muhammad
said, “When your women ask your permission to go to the mosque at night, give them permission.” In
general, menstruating women do not enter a mosque to say prayers, although there is no absolute
prohibition against it. In ancient times, some women actually set up their own tents within mosques,
presumably for protection. However, later it was more customary for women to pray in the privacy of
their homes. Today the trend is for them once again to attend the mosque, although they are
segregated from men, usually in a balcony or separate room. Where these are not available, women and
children pray behind adult males.

Building a mosque is worthy of great merit in the Islamic tradition, and no Muslim can be denied
admittance. Early argument raged about whether pagans, Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians should be
allowed in. Today it is agreed that non-Muslims may be invited, but they have no absolute right to visit
or worship.

Most mosques include both a dome and minaret, although the latter feature probably did not exist
during the life of Muhammad. The dome carries with it a feeling spaciousness, calm, and peace; they are
also an acoustical aid. The minaret, or tower, was historically the place from where prayers were
announced by the muezzin . Both the dome and the minaret are frequently topped by the crescent
moon, the symbol of Islam. Most mosques have a place set aside for ablutions before entering, so that
people can perform their prayers in a state of ritual purity. It is customary to take off one’s shoes before
entering, although it is not absolutely required. Special slippers are usually provided. It is traditional for
men to wear cologne and dress in white in the mosque. Women, on the other hand, should not wear
scent when attending.

The only furniture in a mosque is the pulpit or minbar, a platform from which the imam delivers his
Friday sermon. Many mosques have a “professional” imam deliver the sermon, although any
knowledgeable person can do so. When men and women are praying together, the imam must be male.
If only women are praying, a woman from the middle of the row leads the prayers. Muhammad said of
the prayer leader: “When he prostrates, you should also prostrate, when he rises up, you should also
rise up.” One should not speak the prayers in a louder voice than the imam, so as not to seem to
compete with him. When someone did this to Muhammad, he complained, “I felt as if you were
disputing with me.” It is also forbidden to get ahead of Imam in the prayer cycle. “Does the man who
lifts his head before the Imam not fear that Allah may change his face into that of an ass?” asked
Muhammad.

Muhammad said that he had no command to decorate a mosque, although many are beautifully
adorned with passages from the Quran. Islamic law does not permit the artistic representation of
human beings. In any case, mosques should be kept scrupulously clean and perfumed. In Muhammad’s
time, a black slave usually undertook this task. There are no chairs or pews; people are expected to
simply sit on the floor. The walls are often decorated with quotations from the Quran and are always in
Arabic, no matter where the mosque is located. The names of the first four caliphs and that of
Muhammad may also be written on the walls in Sunni mosques.

The main interior feature of the mosque is the qiblah wall, indicating the wall in the direction of
Mecca. It contains the mihrab , a special niche cut into the wall intended to focus the worshipper’s
attention on Allah and Mecca. The imam stand in front of the mihrab .

It is forbidden to yell, spit, carry on trade, or recite poetry in this holy place, although formerly the
mosque was used as a marketplace where clothing, books, medicine, and even food have been sold, so
long as the worshippers are not disturbed. Children are allowed to move about it freely (if quietly).
Muhammad declared, “Do not go to the mosque after eating garlic, onion, and so forth, because angels
are harmed by the same things as people.” ( Muhammad had a strong dislike for smelly vegetables.)
One cannot take a dog to a mosque, either, although if a dog does happen to wander through, the
mosque is not defiled. Cats are welcome.

Tradition recounts the story of a Bedouin who began urinating in the local mosque, presumably because
he did not know better. ( The Bedouins were not particularly sophisticated.) The Muslims were about
to take him into custody, but the good-hearted Muhammad said, “Leave him alone, and just throw some
water over his urine, for you have been raised to deal with people gently, not harshly.”

Once a mosque is built, it must always remain a mosque and never be diverted to other purposes. It can
never be “owned” except by the community itself. Mosques do not need to be consecrated as churches
do in some Christian traditions. Prayers can even be offered in a Christian church, so long as the building
contains no statues or pictures