What It Means - Day 25

A couple days ago I discussed the times that I've taken the opportunity to pray when I was overseas.  I've always been received graciously and kindly overseas, although sometimes I get funny looks.  Factoring in my brutishly bad Arabic I'm certain that all too often I look like the stupid American tourist who has stumbled into the wrong building. One of the advantages of performing Wudu, the ritual ablution, in Islam is that beyond preparing you to pray it also, in a purely practical sense, shows that you're actually supposed to be there. On our trip to Zanzibar in January we were fortunate to visit a Shia mosque, which was my first opportunity to do so.  It's known as the New Mosque, although that speaks more to the age of Stone Town than the newness of the mosque itself. It was a beautiful structure housed in a unique long, rectangular space. Usually the front of the mosque faces toward Mecca, the direction is known as the qibla which is usually marked by a niche in the wall known as the mihrab (although sometimes, as in our Islamic Society of Vermont, it's just marked by an outline painted on the wall). In this specific instance the front of the mosque did not face towards Mecca, although this had to do more with adapting to the unique structure of the building as compared to anything peculiar to a Shia mosque. Essentially, after the sermon was over the followers would then have to turn to their left and begin the group prayer, requiring the Imam to walk around to the facing wall. Anyway, after we had finished the tour I gave the high sign to Steve that I was going back in to pray, which we always do as quietly as possible because it's a personal thing and I don't want to impose my beliefs on students. So, he herds them out and I conveniently forget something behind which requires me to go back in.  As we've discussed, I'm happy with my faith and quite content, but I'm also a very firm believer that we're there for their class and not for my own personal religious beliefs, so I try as much as possible to always keep them separate.

The informational sign outside the New Mosque.

The front of them masjid where the sermon would be given, although the qibla was actually to the left.