The Grand Mosque

There are mosques in practically every neighborhood here. Depending on which sect of Islam you belong to, they are either plain colored, or covered with colorful tile and paint. The Grand Mosque is the biggest one in the country (and also boasts the largest fiberglass dome in the world--I don't think I was as impressed with that fact as they would have liked me to have been.) They allow visitors in between prayer times, though women must be covered. But don't worry--if you forget your abaya in the car, like I did, they will lend you one.
I think the mosque is beautiful. I love its simplicity and elegance. And I loved our tour guide. He was a very jolly sort of fellow, and had a big beard and an easy smile. He answered all of our questions (even the militant ones from a feminist in our group) and taught us some interesting things. I was taking notes so that I could be sure and share some of my learning on my blog, and I think he was excited about that, because at the end of the tour he gave me a lot of literature on Islam and Christianity, Islam and the treatment of women, and a copy of the Quran in English. I think he was hoping that I was going to convert.
Here I am in the mosque. Notice the lines on the floor. During prayer time, men stand on those lines with shoulders and feet touching. Women have to go to the upper balcony or stand in the back. Unlike men, women are not required to go to the mosque. This is because they believe that a woman can be saved without attendance if she prays in her home. They believe that a woman has the greatest influence on a child, and should be in the home with the children. The tour guide explained that if a child has a drunk father and a good mother, the child will be good. But if the child has a good father and a bad mother, the child will be bad. They believe that it is the man's duty to provide for his family. If the wife works, her salary is her pocket money to do with as she pleases--the man is still responsible for providing for her.

Muslims believe that everyone has two angels riding around on their shoulders. The one on the right shoulder is telling you to do good things, and the one on your left should is telling you to do bad things.

There are 3 rules for a mosque:
1.) There are no pictures of God or any prophets. They don't want people to start worshipping the pictures as idols, or to have a picture of God in their head when they are praying, since they don't know what He looks like. I hate the old religious art that is really graphic (and anatomically incorrect), so I can appreciate this rule.
2.) There are no graves in mosques. Same logic as above, and I think it is also to avoid the politics of who should be buried in the mosque and who shouldn't be.
3.) Only clean money can be used to maintain the mosque. This includes money from interest, gambling, theft, or holdings in companies that are against Islamic teachings (like alcohol).
These are the prayer timings. They are dependent on the movement of the sun and moon, and so the prayer times will change by a couple of minutes each day.
This is the proper way to pray. Part of the prayer is memorized and said verbatim every time, but part of it is open to talk about things that are pressing in your life at the moment. They recite certain verses of the Quran to start out, and I asked the tour guide if they were required to memorize the Quran. He said that it wasn't a requirement, but "It's a bonus." The Quran is 604 pages. I hope it's a big bonus.