For this assignment you are required to visit Muslim mosque. You should choose to visit a religious tradition outside your own and attend a regular worship service if possible. I would encourage you to take advantage of the assignment and visit a tradition you might not ordinarily experience.
Write about the Islamic traditions.
1. Background information on the particular group you are visiting: What branch of the larger tradition does this community identify with? Give a brief history and discuss what makes this particular branch unique. You will need to research this and include footnotes citing your sources for this information. You are required to use at least one academic book source (beyond your course textbook). Do not use on-line encyclopedias or other on-line sources for this background information. You may use the website for the particular place you are visiting for specific details of that place, but you must use an additional academic book source for the background on the particular type of Islam being practiced. Acceptable academic sources include books published by academic presses (especially university presses like Oxford, Cambridge, Indiana, Princeton, etc.) or articles by noted scholars from only the following academic encyclopedia reference works (other encyclopedia references not permitted):
2. A description of your experience: What did the place look like? What was done? What was said? Who said and did what? What was the relationship between men, women, and children in this public space? What place did music or art play in the service? Etc.
3. An analysis of what you observed: What was the general tone of the service? What did it suggest about the community’s understanding of ultimate reality, of human beings, of the relationship between individuals and the wider community as well with the ultimate? Was there any mention of politics? social justice? morality? What other values might have been embodied by the words and practices observed?
4. A comparison of this limited experience with our general class discussion and reading of the wider tradition as well. Were there things that surprised you or which seemed to contradict the general statements made or read in class? If you became uncomfortable and walked out, discuss why this was the case. If there was something that particularly impressed you, include this as well. You may also compare your experience of the tradition with your own.
