How do you behave in a mosque? Tourist's allowance.

Hello, dear reader! Every year the number of mosques in the Chechen Republic is steadily growing. They are built in all settlements, even in the most remote and inaccessible. Among them there are without exaggeration architectural masterpieces that attract the attention of curious tourists. Many of them ask whether it is possible to visit mosques as a tourist, if so, how to behave inside the mosque? We will try to answer these questions.

The word mosque is a Russian interpretation of the Arabic word “masjid”, which means: a place of worship. From time immemorial, mosques have served people as platforms for individual and group prayers. Prayer, which is also among Russian-speaking Muslims, is a daily spiritual practice and is a series of physical actions, such as standing, reading and reflecting on the verses of the Koran, belting and earth bowing. The person performing the prayer should be as focused as possible on it. Therefore, any action that could distract the worshiper from prayer is forbidden in Islam, even reading aloud the Holy Quran next to the worshiper. It is necessary to be quiet in the mosque. There is also a rule in which it is forbidden to pass in front of a praying person at a distance of one meter - this is the place where the prayer bows in the bow of the earth, such a passage is considered a sin.

In the mosque, people spend their time praying, praying to the Almighty, glorifying His name, and reading the Holy Quran. The Qur’an has survived to this day in the original Arabic language in verse form without any changes. The scriptures of the Qur’an are the words of God, and God desires that man should not touch this text without ritual ablution. There are a number of services in which the presence of ritual ablution is a prerequisite, one of them is to take the sacred text of the Quran into your hands, so it is forbidden to touch it and take it into your hands without ritual updating.

In mosques it is always clean, the floors are lined with expensive carpets made of natural wool of merino, for this reason, when entering the mosque, it is necessary to take off your shoes to keep clean and not spoil the expensive flooring. In Islam, a woman who leaves the house and is in a mosque must wear a hijab. This is a modest form of clothing designed to dull men's eyes. When entering a mosque, a hijab is a prerequisite for women. In large mosques, you can often find a screen behind which are these garments intended for those who do not have them, namely large headscarves and long loose dresses. Wear the hijab so that you can see nothing but the oval of the face and hands. The hair should be completely removed and hidden under the scarf. Men are not allowed to wear shorts, although in the Chechen Republic this kind of clothing is not acceptable even for men on the street. When entering the mosque, men do not need to remove their headdress.

The area is also zoned in mosques. There's a male and female area. This is done so that men and women do not distract each other from prayer. In large cathedral mosques, the second tier or part of it is most often reserved for women. In small mosques, special rooms for women are made or the central hall is fenced with a screen for women to pray for. For some people, this unequal division of the mosque may seem unfair to a woman, but it is not. Collective prayer in the mosque is the responsibility of the male part of the population, so men often pray in the mosque, and women at home. Accordingly, the territory of the mosque for men is more female.

It should be mentioned that there is a ban on entering the mosque with drinks or things that can stain carpets. It is also forbidden to bring animals into the mosque.

Now, armed with new knowledge, you can feel more confident going into the mosque to join the Islamic faith, history and architecture.

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