What You Will See Inside a Mosque

by Aisha Karen Khan, Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed (Foreword by), Aaron Pepis (Photographer)

Overview

A colorful, fun-to-read introduction that explains the ways and whys of
Muslim worship, faith, and religious life.

What You Will See Inside a Mosque will:

• Satisfy kids’ curiosity about what goes on in mosques attended by their friends, broadening awareness of other faiths at an important age when opinions and prejudices can first form.
• Provide Muslim children with a deeper understanding of the practices of their own religious tradition.
• Give children the opportunity to ask questions, making them more active participants.

Colorful full-page photographs set the scene for concise but informative descriptions of what is happening, the objects used, the clergy and laypeople who have specific roles, the spiritual intent of the believers, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594732577
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Series:	What You Will See Inside .
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Aisha Karen Khan is a writer and former teacher who is widely recognized for her ability to explain the traditions of Islam to children and parents. The former principal of a full-time Islamic school in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley, she is the mother of two young sons and a member of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Aaron Pepis is an international award-winning commercial and portrait photographer as well as an accredited photographic judge. A partner in the Pepis Studio in West Haverstraw, New York, Pepis gives seminars in all aspects of photography nationwide.

Editorial Reviews

Second in the What You Will See Inside series, What You Will See Inside a Mosque by Aisha Karen Khan, photos by Aaron Pepis, conducts readers on a tour of a Muslim house of worship, at the same time ably introducing the tenets of the faith. The first spread, for example, introduces the call to prayer, or adhan. While the main text explains the function of the adhan and outlines prayer rituals, a large photo shows a man performing the adhan, and sidebars include photos of a minaret and of prayer clocks. The photos, mostly inviting and appealing, issue a friendly overture to a non-Muslim audience. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-6-Khan makes it clear that her statements represent those of a devout Muslim: "We call our faith Islam"; "As Muslims we believe in Allah, the Arabic name for God"; and so forth. Thus, her book manages the marvelous balancing act of being strictly doctrinaire without being exclusionary, offensive, or proselytizing. Her focus is on what happens inside a mosque, but, in describing the parts of this structure and the behavior of Muslims within it, she must necessarily explain the beliefs that dictate the building's forms and its manner of use. This excellent introduction includes basic information on the Qur'an, the qibla (the niche indicating the direction in which Mecca lies), and the Five Pillars of Islam. It also details features such as the "bathrooms" in which adherents perform wudu (washing certain body parts prior to worship), the requirements of and the reasoning behind "modest" dress, and the importance of education. Full-page photographs are supplemented by smaller photos with informative captions. Much more practical and methodical than so many brief introductions to Islam with a more historical focus, Inside a Mosque makes an excellent companion to David Macaulay's Mosque (Houghton, 2003), which adds a further sense of the cultural breadth and the past of Islam.-Coop Renner, Fairmeadows Elementary, Duncanville, TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

As a woman who has embraced Islam, Khan is eager to share her religion with North American children. With its handsome layout, consisting of two-page spreads with one large, clear photograph occupying one page and text and smaller photographs with detailed captions on the other, this introduction to the holy buildings used by the Islamic faithful offers enough detail to provide both an accurate picture of the characteristics of a contemporary mosque in the US and some insight into the Islamic religion itself. Using photos taken in two suburban mosques in New York, Khan describes the different areas of the buildings, including the ritual washing area, the prayer hall, the school rooms, the reading room or library, and the minaret or tower. She discusses some practices in the Middle East, South Asia, and other parts of the Muslim world, but also speaks about specific North American adaptations, such as having to go back to work on Friday after midday prayer. Succinct, but informative, this can be used by schools, families, and religious education groups to encourage some sorely needed tolerance in this time of international strife. (Nonfiction. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews