Attending a mosque on a Friday is eye opening to any person, no matter what religion anybody practices. At first, when I walked in, I noticed the mosque was different from any other church I’ve entered, but at the same time similar. The set-up of the mosque was unique. There weren’t any chairs or religious figures, it was one immense empty room with the whole mosque painted in a distinctive pattern from wall to wall. On the other hand, it is similar to any other church. It was a place of worship for people from different backgrounds that believe in one single faith. In addition, the people at the mosque were quite captivating. I was introduced with a polite hello by all and greeted superb by the leaders. This made my experience more welcoming
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In the mosque I attended, after prayer time, the Imam spoke about Prophet Mohammed’s journey during Miraj. Tina Sherwell explains Lailat al Miraj as “the night that Allah took Muhammad on a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he ascended to heaven” (12). This story the Imam spoke about, which is also written in the Quran, reveals the mythic dimension of Islam through literature. Moreover, Ninian Smart explained that myths do not only communicate sacred stories from the past, but for the future as well (76). To bring back the six Articles of Faith the Imam explained to me, one of the articles is to believe in the day of judgement, which is the end out the world. Again through literature written in the Quran, the mythic dimension is used to narrate the events for the future. In addition to sacred stories, there are sets of symbols that are meanings beyond themselves that help explain myths in Islam. For example, the imam I meet was talking about the Masjid al-Haram mosque, and refereed to it as the “House of Allah” and the holiest place. This symbolic theme of the Masjid al-Haram helps narrative sacred stories of Allah because it’s the place of contact between Allah and Earth (Darwish 290). Furthermore, myths in the Islamic faith are not only demonstrated in the verbal or symbolic themes, but also in rituals. Before prayer time at Masjid-Miami Mosque, the Imam was telling me the importance of performing the five pillars of Islam. These pillars are rituals that are explained in the Quran as myths or sacred stories. For example, the Zakat pillar, an annual charitable tax to the poor and needy, was performed by the Prophet Muhammad during his lifetime, and because of that sacred story, all Muslims have to preform that ritual (Crotty & Lovat 56). This explains how the mythic dimension can go hand in hand with the ritual
In the mosque I attended, after prayer time, the Imam spoke about Prophet Mohammed’s journey during Miraj. Tina Sherwell explains Lailat al Miraj as “the night that Allah took Muhammad on a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he ascended to heaven” (12). This story the Imam spoke about, which is also written in the Quran, reveals the mythic dimension of Islam through literature. Moreover, Ninian Smart explained that myths do not only communicate sacred stories from the past, but for the future as well (76). To bring back the six Articles of Faith the Imam explained to me, one of the articles is to believe in the day of judgement, which is the end out the world. Again through literature written in the Quran, the mythic dimension is used to narrate the events for the future. In addition to sacred stories, there are sets of symbols that are meanings beyond themselves that help explain myths in Islam. For example, the imam I meet was talking about the Masjid al-Haram mosque, and refereed to it as the “House of Allah” and the holiest place. This symbolic theme of the Masjid al-Haram helps narrative sacred stories of Allah because it’s the place of contact between Allah and Earth (Darwish 290). Furthermore, myths in the Islamic faith are not only demonstrated in the verbal or symbolic themes, but also in rituals. Before prayer time at Masjid-Miami Mosque, the Imam was telling me the importance of performing the five pillars of Islam. These pillars are rituals that are explained in the Quran as myths or sacred stories. For example, the Zakat pillar, an annual charitable tax to the poor and needy, was performed by the Prophet Muhammad during his lifetime, and because of that sacred story, all Muslims have to preform that ritual (Crotty & Lovat 56). This explains how the mythic dimension can go hand in hand with the ritual