Can I just show up or do I need to be invited? There is a new one very close to my house and I thought about seeing what their service is like.
I assume if I just show up at a minimum I will get a lot of people wondering why I am there. ( I am a guy if that matters. )
I think I’d just call them up and ask.
I suggest you call and ask, or drop by during the week to ask. Like all places of worship, I think the answer varies from location to location. And as with all places of worship, you don’t want to cause offense by failing to follow their customs (such as removing shoes, covering head, remaining silent, etc.)
I was going to ask ahead, I was just wondering if anyone here had advice before calling.
Another thing you might look into, if you’re curious, is whether the mosque offers free Arabic classes. Many of them do - there’s an emphasis on learning to read the Koran, but at least the one I visited (in DC) wanted the students to be able to read for actual comprehension.
I have on at least one occasion tried to visit a mosque just to check it out and was stopped at the door, being told that only Muslims may enter.
I’ve done that kind of thing quite often in Christian churches (specifically Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Episcopalian), sit quietly at the back and just look around. I’ve also never seen anyone being stopped from entering a Hindu temple, although I’ve heard people say that it has happened.
I also live very near a Mormon temple. I know I cannot visit the temple but they have a church next door and I might visit that.
The temple was open for visits to non-Mormons before it was officially in use but I missed that chance. They don’t even allow non-Mormons in to work there such as plumber, electrician, etc. I guess in case of a fire they would not worry about the faith of the guys with the hoses.
I’ve entered mosques in Egypt (on vac) and in Africa (just to look). All depends on the particular mosque, doubtless there are some Imams and sects that don’t want outsiders around, but generically never has been a problem. A phone call to inquire about a visit would seem not to be a problem.
I’ve heard this before but I’ve never seen any church publication stating it’s the case. Also, here in South Korea, the law requires that gas lines be inspected regularly and the Temple in Seoul does not bar the local inspector from performing their duty. Of course, the inspector is not engaging in any of the rites in the Temple.
Do you mind me asking which mosque you are talking about? I live in DC, and wouldn’t mind learning Arabic.
I would call first, but it should be no problem. You’ll probably want to attend on a Friday, typically about 1pm.
There are two aspects to the service, a khutbah (sermon) where everyone sits cross-legged on the floor (there is no furniture) and listens to the imam, much as in a Christian church. It will almost certainly be in English (I assume you are in the US). This will go on for perhaps 20-25 minutes and generally be in two parts which are related to each other.
The other part is the actual prayer which consists of the prostrations you surely have seen with Muslims praying. This is a very set pattern with well defined prayers and will be the same every week (except for a few verses from the Qur’an which are at the whim of the imam).
If you go at other times, there will be no sermon so it would be far less interesting to an outsider.
How would they know if you are a Muslim? Is there a secret handshake?
I wonder if American Black Muslims (Farrakhan and other similar groups) are welcome in Arab mosques?
They wouldn’t know upon first glance, but if you didn’t know what was happening, it might be hard to follow along during the ritual prayers. I have frequently seen visitors in various mosques around the world.
The Nation of Islam is not actual Islam, it’s its own religion. There are plenty of African-American Muslims who are not NoI, though, and they pray at ordinary mosques. I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “Arab mosques” - in the United States, at least, Muslims generally pray together no matter what their ethnicity, unless the local Muslim community is large enough that linguistic and cultural groups can support their own mosques. (ie, the little mosque in my whitebread hometown in California supports all local Muslims, because there aren’t enough of them to split into groups of different ethnicities or linguistic groups.)
But I imagine NoI people would be welcomed at a regular Muslim mosque as much as anyone else would.