Mosque

The Mosque is a house of prayer in Islam. The English word "Mosque" comes from the Egyptian Arabic "masgid" while in common Arabic it is "masjid". Muslims view the Mosque as a symbolically important structure. To them, it is a humble way for humans to recreate pure divine presence in earth. Even though Mosques are viewed as a divine structure, they are not built according to divine patterns, they are simply divinely guided. The main religious texts provide no clear rules as to what a mosque should look like. Mandatory elements that a Mosque should include is that it should point in the direction of the Mecca. This indication in most mosques is a mihrab, a niche in the wall. The area in front of the mihrab must be roofed. In the wall of the mihrab there can be no doors. As for the other walls, there can be as many doors as the builders want. There are 2 types of mosques: the main mosque is called //jama'a//, and is the one where the Friday prayer is recited. The jama'as are often richly adorned. In English, the term jama'a is rarely used, "Friday Mosque" or "Great Mosque" being the common term. The first mosque is the one in Mecca, meaning the area that surrounded the Ka'ba, the most holy shrine. In the beginning of Islam, tribes and sects in Islam, often marked their independence or their purity, by putting up mosques of their own, or by defining a certain part of the mosque as their part.

Kjeilen, Tore. "Mosque." __Encyclopedia of the Orient.__ (1996). Date Not Available <[Sensal, Burak."The mosque in Islamic religion." All about Turkey. (1996). Date Not Available<http://www.allaboutturkey.com/mosque.htm [[image:http://i-cias.com/e.o/ill/mosque04.jpg align="center"]

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