What is the difference between a mosque and an islamic center

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Reply to this topic Insert image from URL. Go to topic listing. Recently Browsing 0 members No registered users viewing this page. India - on a handcart to hell? Does the Qur'an deny that the prophet performed miracles? In non-Muslim countries, the mosque may take on more of a community center role where people hold events, dinners and social gatherings, as well as educational classes and study circles.

The leader of a mosque is often called an Imam. Often there is a board of directors or another group that supervises the activities and funds of the mosque. In Muslim countries this is often a paid position; in other places, it may rotate as an honorary volunteer position among the congregation.

Although Muslims may pray in any clean place and in any mosque, some mosques have certain cultural or national ties or may be frequented by certain groups. In North America, for example, a single city may have a mosque that caters to African-American Muslims, another that hosts a large South Asian population -- or they may be divided by sect into predominantly Sunni or Shia mosques. Other mosques go out of their way to ensure that all Muslims feel welcome. Non-Muslims are usually welcome as visitors to mosques, especially in non-Muslim countries or in tourist areas.

There are some common-sense tips about how to behave if you are visiting a mosque for the first time. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.

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Select personalised ads. You also will find the minbar , a pulpit where the leader of the prayer, the imam, stands on top. And of course in the mihrab niche itself you will find the mosque lamp. So you see that all these items are actually concentrated around the prayer, which is, in a way, materialized through these different objects. Walter Denny: What about the carpets on the floor? What function do they serve in the ritual? Deniz Beyazit: Of course, the carpets, they are aligned in the mosque in order to reinforce, actually, the orientation to the qibla and the orientation of the whole building.

Actually, most of the things we can see here in the galleries—like the lamps, parts of a wooden minbar , Qur'an holder, beautiful Iznik tiles, the carpets—we have to put them back into their original context. So one of these contexts is the mosque. Walter Denny: So for those of us who are not Muslims, it's important for us to remember, then, that many of these beautiful things have a context that, for a Muslim, has a very deep religious meaning.

Visiting The Met? Essential Architectural Elements of a Mosque The essential architectural elements include: The qibla is the direction Muslims face when praying toward the Ka'ba in Mecca. The qibla wall is the wall in a mosque that faces Mecca. The mihrab is a niche in the qibla wall indicating the direction of Mecca; because of its importance, it is usually the most ornate part of a mosque, highly decorated and often embellished with inscriptions from the Qur'an see image 4.

The minbar is a pulpit in the form of a staircase on which the prayer leader imam stands when delivering a sermon after Friday prayer. The pulpit is usually situated to the right of the mihrab and is often made of elaborately carved wood or stone fig. A minaret is a tall tower attached or adjacent to a mosque. It is designed so the call to prayer, issued from mosques five times a day, can be heard loud and clear throughout a town or city.