'A Visit to a Mosque\r'

'Theology I hit been a member of the Catholic Church my entire life. Although I have often apportionn eon to glitter on my belief, never at a time have I made an attempt to explore a religion aside from my own. Recently, I stepped outside of my comfort partition and was fortunate complete to visit a mosque. A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam, or one who is Moslem. There be a mickle of services I could have visited to experience a sunrise(prenominal) religion, each with their own identity.The reason I ultimately chose o visit a mosque is because Muslims subprogram over all life begins and ends with beau ideal, as do l. However, distant Catholics, the Islamic religion does not swear deliverer Christ to be the Son of graven image, nor that he was crucified on the cross. My goal was to gain a break dance understanding of the beliefs Catholics and Muslims shargon, how they differ, and why. The experience was refreshing, and I line up as though I le ft the mosque with solid answers to my questions, and a new outlook on my own faith. The mosque I visited, called the Mosque Foundation, is primed(p) in Bridgeview, Illinois.Although at that place atomic number 18 mosques footlinger in outer space from my home, I was told the experience would prove to be better at this particular mosque. When first walking in, I ob practiced many an(prenominal) multitude gathered in the hall ports visiting and conversing with one another. After a short time, the women proceeded follow up stairs and the men stayed upstairs nest the main entrance. One woman was gracious enough to explain to me the events taking place. Men and women separate to take part in Salat, or prayer. Because the prayer rite requires arrogateting ones forehead to the ground, shoes are emoved and set(p) on shelves.Every woman was dressed modestly and wore a veil/ scarf covering their hair. While many people are aware that Muslim women damp this garment on their heads, perhaps what is not cognise is that this is a religious go for. Many Muslims bank God requires the hair to be covered, as this is stated in the Quran (what Muslims recall to be His final book). I sit on a chair in the suffer to watch the group of women prays. I noticed there were a handful of girls sitting on chairs in the back as well, a vogue from the group.It was explained to me that Muslim irls who are menstruating are not permitted to participate in prayer, as they are considered to be unclean. In order to practice traditional salat, one must be in a state of ritual purity. The salat itself is of slap-up importance to Muslims because it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam are fin basic acts that are mandatory of Muslims and are considered to be the foundation of Muslim life. The pillars are as follows; 1 . Shahadah- declaring there is no God take away God, and Muhammad is Gods messenger. 2 .Salat-a ritual prayer done five times a day. . Sawm- fasting and self- control during Ramadan. 4. Zakat- grownup 2. 5% of ones savings to the poor. 5. HaJJ- Pilgrimage to the Mecca at least once in lifetime if he/she is commensurate to do so. The Muslim faith pray five times a day. The tangible salat inhabits of a series of movements called Rakat. Verses are read aloud by a man over a speaker and the movements are made. The movements, or different parts of the Rakat consist of bowing low with the hands on the knees, ponderous oneself to the ground with the forehead and sitting with the feet folded under the body.The actual prayer lasts for less than ten minutes. When the men and women were done for(p) praying, I had a chance to sit down with the Imam, the one who lead the worship service. The Imams name was Khalid. Khalid welcomed me into his mapping and talked with me for over an hour a encounter Islam. He knew I was of the Catholic faith, thus the majority of our conversation was fagged discussing the differences between u s. What I gathered from Khalid is that Muslims believe in one God, who created all, and nothing is worthy of worship pretermit Him. Our entire purpose in this life is to serve im.Muslims do love and venerate the Nazarene only(prenominal) as a prophet and a messenger, not as the Son of God. They do not feel Jesus was slain on the cross. According to Khalid, Jesus was sent to the people of Israel to revive a phantasmal connection with God. This is one very significant way Catholics differ from Muslims, because not only to we feel God gave the world Jesus as His son, but we besides worship Jesus and pray to him. Catholics also believe Mary to be the Mother of God. Muslims do believe Mary did indeed give birth to Jesus, though she was a virgin.The Imam was very adamant bout the fact that Muslims do not Judge others, nor oblige their beliefs upon others. They do however feel that Imam is the rectify and only way one should live, and those that do not practice the right way will be sent to hell. Those who do not live as God wanted us to, especially those that have been shown the way and off their back, will be punished. I asked how the Muslim faith feels about those that were never shown the way of God-perhaps a tribe of some sort never connecting with the outside world- how does God treat them? I questioned how could they hunch over if they were never taught?The answer I received was simple. The Muslims pull up stakes those type of questions to God, because only He knows the answer-but they do believe He will treat them fairly. The conversation I had with Khalid had me questioning my own fate. Certainly, I nave been shown the way. withal though I am Catholic, I †like the Muslim taitn- teel as though our purpose is to serve God. This is what He wants us to do and why he put us here. My visit to the mosque made me realize that it is time to compel a choice on how I serve God. I feel giving minimum attention and thanks to God is not legal enough.Khal id opened my eyes when he said â€Å"those who turned their backs will be punished. ” I would never turn my back, but I do need to make some small, achievable changes to feel right once more with the Lord. I respect how loyal followers of Islam are. Even with the world changing rapidly, the apathetic attitude people have about religion, technology, temptation, etc. , the Muslim faith is stronger than ever, now the largest religion in the world. The reason they invest their lives to Islam is because they are certain they will be rewarded. peradventure we could all learn something from visiting a mosque once in our lives.\r\n'