A Visit to the Mosque of West Springfield

Horatio Pinnock, Guest writer

On a recent afternoon, the Spirituality, Religion and Healing class instructed by Father McDonagh visited the Islamic Society of Massachusetts’ Mosque in West Springfield.

Upon arrival at the mosque we were instructed to remove our shoes before entering into the place of worship. Where we then met the Imam of the mosque; a middle age man name Wisam Abdul-Baki.

We had a chance to observe them pray. Immediately we realized that they prayed in a manner that was peculiar/odd to most of us. First there was a call for prayer, they would all then assemble facing the Imam. They would stand foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder, before bending over and then kneeling down to rest their forehead against the floor repeatedly. Upon the conclusion of prayer Imam Wisam then explained the relevance of this form of worship to us.

The people of the Islamic faith are required to pray five times daily, each of which time is indicated by one of the five clocks that they have present at the interior of the Mosque. They pray facing the direction of Mecca, which is the first temple and the birthplace of Islam.

The Imam also proceeded to explain that the translated meaning of the word Mosque is, “the place where we come to fall on our faces” before God (Allah) of course. Muslims believe that it is the most powerful part of the body, and putting it down on the floor in his worship symbolizes their complete surrender to him. During worship Muslims would separate the women from the men, this is in order to repel any sexual urges or attraction, again so they can show their devotion to worship and complete surrender to God.

AIC students on a recent visit to the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts in West Springfield.
AIC students on a recent visit to the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts in West Springfield.

The walls of the mosque were bare, due to their belief that nothing at all should distract them from worshipping the Lord, Allah. They prayed foot-to-foot and shoulder-to-shoulder to symbolize or emphasize equality among men and among themselves.

The Imam also explained to us their beliefs, which surprisingly does not differ much from Christianity.

They believe in Mary and a virgin conception, in fact they speak of Mary far more than Christians do; they have a whole chapter entitle “Mary” in the Quran. However they don’t believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God. But instead a prophet of a single and all powerful God (Allah), who sees and knows all, has always existed and always will. Muhammad was the last prophet and the most influential to Islam (the founder). The Islamic religion also possesses rules, which resembles the bill of rights as the Imam explains. This bill emphasizes faith, first and foremost, followed by life, then intellect, fourth is family and the last is economy.

The Imam was very open to questions, in fact he encouraged and invited questions. He encouraged us to refrain from the reluctance to ask whatever is on our mind so that he could help to eradicate any misconceptions our minds harbored; he was enthused to share his religion with a receptive audience.

His openness however paved the way for his revelation of his feelings about religious prosecution; feeling that are shared by the Muslim society. The Imam expressed that he felt as though he was being persecuted, much like Jesus Christ was persecuted for his religion beliefs.

Yet despite these feelings, which as he explained is a result of prejudicial treatments not by individuals but by the media he harbored no grief, anger or even remorse. Despite these issues, the warmth of his personality and commitment to his belief still radiates; he possessed an inviting personality.