mosque tour

Last weekend we took advantage of a tour of a nearby mosque sponsored by the Islamic Centre in Doha. Although it fairly obvious that the agenda was proselytizing, it was still a very interesting exercise. It started with a talk and tour of the Islamic Cultural Centre, near the souks in Doha, where we were given an explanation of the basic tenets of Islam. All the women were taken to a side room and issued 'abyahs' (the long black robes) and black headscarves to wear. Carolyn asked why the women had to wear the robes, but the men were not. She was given a long convoluted, but totally unconvincing, argument, about respect for women, etc. Then we were loaded onto a bus and after a 20 minute ride taken to a beautiful mosque in Al Wakra, a small former fishing village. The mosque here is very beautiful, with many interesting archetectural details. We were seated on the carpets inside the mosque while many of the features were pointed out. Then back on the bus, to the Islamic Centre where we were invited to attend evening prayers in the mosque there. Very interesting to see 400 bottoms up! Of course the women were not allowed to sit in the same area as the men, but had to watch through a lattice work in an upstairs room Afterwards we were fed a very nice meal of lamb, chicken, and rice. All in all an interesting day, and Carolyn got to keep the abyah! Certainly we were not in any way tempted to become converts to Islam, but it is good to understand a little more of their beliefs and ways.