Personal Investigation on Differences Between Islam and Christianity

On November 8, 2019, I visited the mosque in Oxford, MS. I have always been fascinated with the Islam religion and was curious what a visit to a mosque would be like, so when given the opportunity to write about differences between islam and christianity essay I knew I had to jump on it. My whole life I have grown up Christian. I go to church on Sundays, bible study during the week, and I was confirmed and baptized when I was 13. I knew the experience, rituals, and prayers were going to be different from anything I had ever experienced, but I had no idea what exactly I was walking in to. I decided to attend the Jumu’ah which is also known as the congregational prayer that muslims perform every Friday afternoon. The Jumu’ah is one of the most important rituals of Islam. My group came to realize that this could be a pretty close equivalent to a Sunday church service.

I did have to do some research and go back over some of the powerpoints that we went through in class to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong or offensive since my beliefs and normal religious visits are so different. I tried to find out what to wear, rituals that are important, and things to look for. Women are supposed to wear modest, loose fitted clothing that covers arms and legs. With this being said, I wore a long skirt and long sleeve loose fitted sweater. I arrived to the mosque and met my group in the parking lot at around 12:20 p.m. which is 10 minutes before the prayer is supposed to start. The first thing I noticed about the white building was what looks like a minaret on the right side which is also known as a tower. The mosque in Oxford is also identified as a Masjid which means “place of prostration” to God, and is distinguished as the center of worship within the community and the site for Friday prayer. While waiting patiently in the parking lot for our fourth group member to arrive, I noticed almost every man or woman that walked by invited and encouraged us to come inside. I was happy to see how welcoming and friendly everyone was. Also, a nice man showed us the correct door to enter through because men and women enter the mosque in separate entrances. The reason for this is Muhammed ordered that mosques have seperate doors so men and women would not be obliged to enter and exit through the same door. Some of the first things I noticed were the lack of furniture and how there is only carpet on the main floor, the separation of men and women by a curtain, and the ratio between the two genders. I was shocked at first, but then remembered from a lecture in class that only men are required to attend Friday prayer, and it is optional for women.

When I entered the mosque, I immediately made sure my phone was silenced so I would not disturb or disrespect those participating in the prayer. A ritual I noticed was the removal of shoes before prayer, so even though I was only observing I made sure to do so as well. Remembering from class that images of God and prophets is forbidden, I quickly noticed the absence of images of people. The only “decorations” inside were quotations from the Qur’an written in Arabic, and names of muhammed and his prophets or companions. There is a lack of sacred objects inside the mosque due to the fact that they are not needed, but there were a few that I took note of. First, at the front of the worship space stood a brown wooden roofed niche called the Mihrab. The Mihrab is essential to any mosque because it directs to Mecca, and is what muslims pray towards. There were quite a few crescents and stars within the mosque which are the symbols associated with Islam. The most sacred object of all is the Qur’an. Being the sacred text and interpreted as the “literal word of God”, Muslims follow the specific rules in reading it. The emphasis of purity and cleanliness while inside the mosque leads to the ritual of washing before prayer. Wudhu is the ritual washing and muslims must wear good clothes and be clean before presenting themselves to God.I did notice this when I was there, and found it interesting how the men and women's bathrooms are on the “women's side” of the building, yet they are so segregated throughout.

In a class lecture we learned about imams, or the person who leads prayers inside the mosque. The imam on Friday also stood at the front of the worship space below the Mihrab. Usually imams stand on a platform called a minbar to deliver Friday’s sermon, but the Oxford mosque in particular did not have a platform. There was a podium that he stood behind but it was on the same carpeted surface as the other Muslims praying. The structure of the service was that it started with a call to worship about fifteen minutes before the imam starts the sermon. Following the sermon is two prayer cycles which I saw the muslims standing, and kneeling but in a practiced way. Since the imam spoke in Arabic most of the time or his accent was too thick for me to understand, I had a difficult time grasping the ways the Islamic worldview was portrayed during worship. Luckily, afterwards I met and talked to a lady for about half an hour who politely offered to answer any questions or confusion I may have. She briefly touched on some key aspects of the Islamic worldview which were the emphasis of tawhid or oneness. She repeatedly talked about how there is only one god, Allah, and his messanger and final prohet is Muhammad. She explained the submission to God and how those who do so will be rewarded with a paradise. The perspective Islam has on heaven and hell is that both are present, and the determination of where one is sent solely depends on the amount of good deed done in the lifetime. The lady gave me a translated copy of the Qur’an and told me to read it with purpose because she wants me to understand the worldview that this sacred text is unaltered and is the final revelation from God as well as the structure for their faith commitment and worship. The five pillars of Islam was another thing briefly brought up in which she told us what they were; shahada, zakat, salat, fasting, and hajj. The lady said these are the necessary acts of worship and commitment that touch on all aspects of life.

The visit I to the mosque helped improve my understanding of Islam given the first hand experience I had with talking to a lady about the particular faith. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to witness the Jumu’ah because it will be something to remember for the rest of my life, and I probably would never have stepped inside one. I am a very visual learner so being able to dive in and learn about all different cultures and religions in person allowed me to put stuff learned from lecture and vocabulary words into reality. I realized that although there are many differences between Islam and Christianity, there are also similarities; like the worldview that there is heaven and hell, and monotheism.