No statues, ritual objects, or pictures are permitted within the mosque.
Ceremonies connected with marriage and birth are never performed in the
mosque.
Group worship is recommended for each of the five daily prayers, but is
obligatory in the case of the noon prayer on Fridays.
Any Muslim can conduct the service; the deeper his knowledge, the more
entitled he is to lead.
Before a Muslim engages in worship, a pre-prayer ablution of the body
with pure water is required. Cleanliness of the body, the clothes, and the
place of prayers is required, A prayer mat or rug on which they kneel for
prayers is desirable. During the Friday prayers at noon, a platform from
which a sermon is to be delivered may be needed.
Friday noon prayers should be held and attended in a mosque or a
suitable building. All other prayers can be carried out in any other clean
facility or place, as long as the worshipper is facing the east while praying.
As a result of their conquests, Moslems came into contact with Greek
science and philosophy, and with Persian history and literature. Moslem
geographers discovered the source of the Nile, and explored many new areas.
They also spread knowledge of other discoveries, including the Chinese
inventions of paper and gunpowder, and the Hindu system of numerals.
The Moslems not only honored learning, but also developed distinctive
arts. They founded many academies and universities. The most famous were
at Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordoba. Moslem scholars of many nations traveled
freely throughout the Moslem world. European scholars traveled to Moslem
countries, especially Spain, to study Islamic philosophy, mathematics, and
medicine. These scholars translated major Arabic works into Latin, the
language of learning in the West. In this way, much of the knowledge of the
classical world was preserved during the Middle Ages by the Moslems.
BASIC BELIEFS AND TEACHINGS
The religion of Islam is based on the Karah or Qur’an, which is the sacred
book of Islam. The Hadith, a second source, unfolds and interprets the
Qur’anic text through the words and practices of the Prophet Mohammed.
Mohammed is considered to be neither savior nor messiah; only a man
through whom God spoke. The companions of Mohammed first wrote his
teachings on any material they could find. Later they combined these
writings to form the holy book of the Moslems, the Koran, from the Arabic
word meaning “the reading.” The Koran teaches the absolute unity and
power of God, the creator of the universe. The Moslems believe that
Mohammed was the last of the prophets. They consider Jesus and the Old
Testament prophets as his predecessors. Their God is basically the same God
as the Jewish and Christian God; however, they believe His word is com-
pletely expressed only in the Koran.
The emphasis of Islamic teachings is summed up in the Koran, Sura
(Chapter) 4:136. “Believe in God and His apostle and the book which He has
sent down upon His apostle and the book which He has sent down formerly.
He who disbelieves in God and His angels, His books and His apostles, and
the last day, has strayed far (from the Truth).” Muslims believe in the unity
of God; in the angels; in all the Messengers of God (including Adam, Noah,
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