Anthro Paper

Ashley Rodrigues

11/21/13

Anthro 102

Liashenko

The Prospect of another World

In a world of vast cultural differences it can be daunting to visit and observe places unfamiliar to your own. I ignorantly believed that infidels such as myself would not be welcomed in a mosque. However, with considerable trepidation I arrived at the Orange County Islamic Center, where I was greeted by a large two story building home to worship and religion for thousands of Muslims. Quickly it was apparent, that Islamic people proudly wear the differences of their multi-cultural community through their clothing, prayers, and accents all the while embracing the common threads of faith and openness that work to bind them together. As a devout Catholic I knew that observing a mosque would be a cross-cultural experience entirely. For instance, Islam teaches that all people are born as Muslims who lose their way. Catholics believe that all people are born sinned human beings only redeemed by rituals such as baptism and receiving the sacrificial blood-shed of Jesus Christ through communion. Another variance is when a Catholic leaves the church with the expectation to fulfill the scriptures taught in the church while the Muslim leaves the mosque with the prospect of a strict obedience to the scriptures.

In my personal life, I grew up going to church every Sunday which entailed sitting through and hour long mass listening to a priest preach about the importance of humility, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness. My family and I usually arrive around noon and enter a dimly lit church courtesy of stained-glass windows come to a wooden pew where we would we all sit in one row. For an hour we routinely sit and stand listening to testaments and songs from the gospel. There is no preparation beforehand and after mass has ended, we leave in peace and go about our days. However, for a Muslim practicing the Islamic faith there is a ritualized preparation of ablution and women and men...