A Kasgar Mosque

OK, so I'm not finished posting from the Russia trip - or the other parts of the summer trip for that matter, which prompted me to decide to take a couple minutes each day to get caught up (or at least within walking distance of being caught up - of course, in the process I'm ignoring the fact that there is a deadline today for getting my proposals in for three different conferences - yes, I'm in that much of a state of denial). Anyway, here's a picture I really like. It was taken in a mosque in Kasgar, which turned out to be my favorite part of China - and of which I'll have much more to say later (I've already talked about my adventures at the Kasgar International Airport and sleeping on the tarmac). As you know, mosques are remarkably unadorned, which makes for a startling comparison to the Tibetan Buddhist temples I saw - or the Daoist temples I saw - or, for that matter, the Russian Orthodox churches I just saw - so maybe this is why this picture has floated back to the surface. Here are four older Chinese Muslims praying. Their hats show that they are from four different ethnic groups, but they are united in prayer. Normally I would never think of taking a picture inside of any religious institution when there is a service being performed, although the Chinese didn't seem to care one way or another - I guess one of the advantages of putting religion on the backburner - so I happily snapped away.