Today we started our journey around the Philadelphia area to learn about various Asian cultures. First up on the list: learning a bit about the Muslim faith. We went to Masjidullah which is a mosque in the West Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia. We boarded the bus and left campus at 10 AM and then we were off!
When we first walked in we were warmly welcomed by members of the congregation, as they gave us food and showed us where we could sit to enjoy a meal. We then all sat and ate our food while Imam Mikal Shabazz, a leader of the mosque, explained a lot about the Muslim religion and history. The Imam was a very charismatic speaker and was able to demonstrate to us his strong faith and passion for welcoming non-Muslims into the mosque.
After he went through a presentation, we were given the chance to ask questions which he generously answered. During the Q+A session, we learned more about Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are obliged to make once in their lives, assuming they are able), the history of the mosque (it was originally a synagogue and was later a church — amazing that it has been a place of worship for several different religions!), and finally about the Imam’s own personal history of being a Muslim. We learned a lot about the religion and we also got to walk through the prayer center.