What should I wear at the masjid?
One should be dressed modestly, as if ready to take part in the prayer services. Women should cover their heads and wear long pants or skirts. Men should also do the same. Shoes are removed before entering the prayer hall of the masjid building, as they often carry dirt from outdoors. This is a humble place for self reflection and turning to God, and as such, visitors must be dressed the part.
What does the inside of the masjid look like?
In America, when you walk through the front doors into the building, there is usually a lobby of some sort. This space is not considered actual “masjid,” which literally means a place of prostration. However, people tend to refer to the entire building as the masjid. Here is where you remove your shoes (there should be a shelf somewhere), see announcements and flyers for activities in the community, and find your way to the restrooms to perform ablution before entering the actual carpeted area where worshipers pray. Sometimes there will be doors to offices or classrooms as well.
Unlike other places of worship, the prayer halls at a masjid are very open and empty. There may be decorations along the walls, ceiling, and front of the space. Usually the decorations are verses from the Quran written in Arabic calligraphy to adorn the space, all about praising God. A stark difference one will notice between a mosque and another religion’s place of worship is that the mosque has no images of people. In Islam, renderings of God and the prophets is strictly forbidden. Historically, designs resembling gardens and vines (in addition to the calligraphic verses) are what adorn many mosques around the world, as this is the description of Heaven in the Quran. The actual middle of the prayer hall is wide open—you will not see aisles of chairs or benches.
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