Berlin Mosque Visit

On May 1, the Susanna group took a field trip to Berlin Mosque, part of the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, at the invitation of Aida Mansoor. Ms. Mansoor is the Director of Field Education at Hartford International, as well as serving in the community and working with the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut and the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford. We were fortunate to have her speak at a Susanna meeting last year, and she participated in the “What Do Our Neighbors Believe” forum last November alongside Pastor Gene and Rabbi Bekah Goldman.

Aida, as she prefers to be called, is an excellent resource to explain the Islamic religion and has the ability to be charming and informative at the same time. We entered the mosque, respectfully removing our shoes and covering our heads as Aida took us into the prayer room where Muslims gather five times a day:

·       Fajr (morning prayer) starts at dawn and ends with sunrise

·       Dhuhr (early afternoon prayer) starts just after midday

·       Asr (later afternoon prayer) between mid-afternoon and sunset

·       Maghrib (evening prayer) just after sunset

·       Isha (night prayer) starts from the disappearance of twilight

The prayers are from the Qur’an and are always spoken in Arabic. The Imam, the one who leads the prayers, has memorized the Qur’an, but most Muslims simply know the prayers. The Berlin Mosque includes Muslims from many backgrounds, but some mosques are culturally specific, such as the Bosnian-American Islamic Cultural Center, which is attended mostly by Bosnians.

After the prayer room, Aida took us downstairs to the classrooms. They have 400 children attending their Sunday school. She also showed us the ladies' bathroom where the women go to wash up before prayers. Before washing, they must say Bismillah (In the Name of Allah). They then wash their right hand, followed by their left hand, and then their face and head. They finish by washing their feet. Each body part must be washed three times. The bathroom is set up with a long bench and faucets for their convenience.

Aida teaches 11th and 12th graders in a separate building, which has been beautifully designed by the students with cushioned Moroccan benches along the walls. The students typically meet on Sunday morning, but due to the teens' busy schedules, Aida and her husband also teach a class at 6:30 am on Saturdays that approximately 30 teens attend.

After the tour, most of the group traveled to Zohara Mediterranean Kitchen in West Hartford, where we enjoyed a great meal – tasting all sorts of new foods. Zoharas could not have been more accommodating, serving us in a timely manner with a smile and a nod. All had a wonderful day.

Thank you to Lucille Burke for organizing this special day.

-Eileen Brogan