Destination: Mosque

For my communications class, we were asked to attend a service in which we would feel like an “outcast.” My group chose to go to the Mosque located in Fort Wayne. There were three girls and one guy. We had no idea what to expect.

After asking out professor and researching a bit, we dressed up in long dresses, wrapped scarves around our heads, and heading off to the service.

            To be honest, we were all nervous. We started to almost get paranoid about what we were wearing and if it was O.K. for them, or if we would offend them by wearing out earrings, clothes, etc. When we arrived, we were greeted by a nice man, who told us that the men an women will be separated. After heading downstairs to the women’s room, I was surprised to see that the room they use was very small, and there were only about 12 women there. The main woman greeted us with a smile on her face, figuring that we were only there for a class project, but was more than willing to help us to know he Muslim religion, and answer any questions she could if we had any. After talking with us for a few minutes, my friends and I just watched. We sat down and observed what these women were going to do. They prayed quietly to themselves then listened to the lecture. Once the lecture was done, they prayed to Allah once more, and to our surprise, the service was then over. It took all of but a half hour.

            The Mosque was a very neat cross-cultural experience. I had never seen people in this element, and it was very interesting to hear how they believed. Some quotes that I remember from the woman giving us a background of the Muslim religions, were that she told us “We believe in one God, just like you guys,” “We believe that Jesus is the son of Mary, only the son of Mary,” “We believe we are slaves to Allah, and we will do what we can to please him,” but the quote that stuck with me the most was: “If you respect us, we will respect you.”

            While sitting in the service, I realized the reality of the situation. I realized how this religion was what they truly believed in, and it was very eye opening to know that people across the globe really do have these beliefs, and it’s not just in the movies. While listening to what the man lecturing had to say, you could hear the passion, not to mention anger in his voice when he was talking about serving Allah, and making sure you do things to serve Allah that will make him proud. It honestly scared me a little bit, to know that some of these points of beliefs are what lead to dangerous situations between different groups, and how serious they can become, yet they say that their religion is still peaceful, I don't understand why there are so many issues.

            Ending on a better note, I thought the Mosque was an amazing experience. What surprised me most was that they were very friendly and welcoming of us. We were even asked if we wanted anything to drink when we first got there, and were greeted with smiles and hugs. Also, we were told that each of the women was a normal person, and it interested me how she said that, as if they know they may or may not have a reputation of some sort. I learned that even though we don’t agree with some of the beliefs of the Muslim religion, as Christians, we don’t have to believe it, but if we are trying to learn or understand as to why people believe what they do, we have to be respectful about it.