Raise your hand if...

Raise your hand if you've ever been in a mosque?
Just me and MM? Really? Actually, I'm not surprised. Hell, I'm really new to the preceding list.

I stopped at McDonalds somewhere near Nathan Street for a quick bite. I was on the run, so don't give me no guff about my cuisine choice. Anyways, I noticed that there are more black men in this McDonalds than I've seen in the whole of Honk Kong so far. Weird.

After my meal I move up and onto Nathan Street, where I come across a mosque. And consequently more black men. So much for racially profiling black Asians as McDonalds fans. Just convenient I guess…

So I do random things as I travel, and since I find myself outside of a mosque I thought I’d go in for a look.

Now I'm full blown atheist, no secret there. But churches intrigue me. I often visit them often in my travels, mostly because they have the best architecture around, some garish zombie art and they also are likely to hold some historical value. The Old North Church in Boston is endlessly fascinating to me. The Church, an old church in Denver that was converted into a night club? Awesome.

So I stood around the entrance trying to figure out if they would let me in just for a look. Someone finally tells me I can look around if I take off my shoes at the entrance (as I've seen everyone else doing). I thank him and do exactly so.

Like a Christian church, there’s a little foyer where I stand around looking lost and more than a little out of place. Several men clothed in various degrees of stereotypical Muslim garb are giving me the “you’re not from around here, are you” eyeball. Not so much unfriendly as probing. Behind me, someone with an accent (African?) asks me in English if he can help. His voice is deep and questioning, but friendly.

I exchange introductions with a black man, dressed for business. As it turns out, he lives primarily in Arkansas; traveling often to Hong Kong and other places. I explain that I’m totally ignorant of Islam and to how a mosque operates, and that I would like to look around if it would not be offensive. Even though he was clearly on his way out the door, he tells me he’d be glad to show me.

First he shows me the room in which you do your “abolitions”. The nature of which seems to be to literally and ritually clean yourself before you pray. I must admit it went by kind of fast, but I think that was the gist. Then we go upstairs where the boys school is. The girl’s school is separate on the other side of the mosque. There are books and small floor level desks and a chalkboard, clearly laid out with little people in mind.

Finally I was shown to the room in which the actual business of talking to the almighty is done. It was a large, unadorned carpeted room with the westernmost wall slightly difference in appearance as to indicate Mecca. No furniture or statuary of any sort.

Men stand, kneel or lay around the carpet in their particular state of worship. Everyone was silent. The prayer rooms (for lack of official word) are quiet and actually pretty peaceful. I’d have layed down to reflect on the day for a spell if I’d felt a little more at home; it seemed an excellent place for it. Downstairs is a similar room.

Somewhere along the way my host tells me that in he is from a small town in Arkansas in which there are a dozen churches. Only in the basement of his office is a tiny mosque. I say something about having his own private mosque, and he corrects me. No, it is not his. All are welcome. The humility with which he says this strikes me as the most genuine thing I’ve heard in quite some time giving me a new respect for this man.

I got a little more of the eyeball on the way out; I put $20 (Hong Kong) in the charity box on the way out; more of gratitude than to assuage their concerns.

All in all, not a bad introduction. I still think all religions are for the birds, but I saw a peaceful, respectful place today, nothing in my ten minute tour to alarm westerners. No more than any other religion should bother us… but that’s a different discussion. Many thanks to my host.

The visit was fun for its newness, but I think in terms of future explorations I’ll get more from the Christian worship houses (even though the place across the street was the most boring, vanilla establishment I’d been to).

Too bad the Mormons won't let non believers in. I think they have the nicest looking church in all of San Diego. From the outside anyways.