Islam+Worship+and+Rituals

Background of the Islam Mosque
Although Muslims can pray anywhere that it is clean, the mosque is the central place of worship in this religion. The Ka'ba in Mecca was that first place of Islam worship on the earth. In any mosque, worshippers face Mecca when they pray. All mosques contain a minaret, a dome, and a library. The prayer hall in a mosque is the main area. The prayer hall is generally carpeted with no furniture.

Traditions and Regulations in the Mosque
In the Islam tradition all worshippers must take their shoes off before entering the mosque. Another regulation in the mosque is that no pictures of people or animals are allowed. In the mosque there is a niche in the wall that faces worshippers, this shows the direction of Mecca. There is also a prayer timetable in most mosques telling the time to begin and end each prayer. Lastly, there is an Imam. This is like the priest in any other religion, the Imam will lead the prayer in front of the worshippers.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity
In both Hinduism and Buddhism the main form of worship is to a statue of a deity and to give offerings. This is not so with the three main western religions. In all three it is most common to give worship in a more conventional way such as prayer, showing respect, and through a priest or other holy person. The structure of each holy place may vary too. In the Hindu temple there will be many separate features for different worship for different sacred beings. In the Buddhist temple there also may be shrines but even Buddhism has less variety than Hinduism. And lastly in both Christianity and Judaism, there are generally only features that are important because of their symbolic meaning such as the Ark and the sanctuary.

Wood, Angela Gluck. Judaism. Laguna Hills, CA: QEB Publishing, 2006.