AlRubie 1

Hassan Alrubie

Professor Kardell

ENG101

19 October 2018

Ethnographic paper

The community of my choice was the church. It is a very new and interesting place to

me. I have only been to a church once before. It was a trip back in elementary school. That was

an “alien” space to me. The environment was one of a kind. Even though the church is a new

environment to me its feeling and mood is similar to a mosque. Throughout my whole life I have

always been to the mosque it is like my second home. I grew up in that environment and most of

the time it was the only time of day to connect with god. The two religious houses have many

difference and similarities.

The Mosque hosts many events for the community and the outsiders. Events such as pot

lucks and informative speeches are frequently conducted. At this time and age many sources

such as the media and propaganda is used to make the religion look bad. These events and

interactions held by the Mosque show other people the true face of Islam and allows them to

experience that environment first hand. The warm smiles that run around the Mosque give it its

unique mood and lively feeling. Also many fundraisers are ran to help with natural disasters and

many Muslim communities around the world like in Myanmar and Syria. The Mosque is the
 AlRubie 2

primary place to many people where they get to meet with other people of the community and

put the life problems and worries outside. They use that place to have a good time, connect, and

remember god.

The Church has a big community and runs on mostly donations too. Based on the two

observation it seems like the church community uses that time to remember god and use it to

interact with each other. The way the people were greeting each other and chats after the sermon

shows that the people only see each other or get to catch up on Sundays at the church. People

arrive at the church while leaving all the problems and issues of the outside world outside.

The church and the Mosque both provide a sense of comfort and warmth to the

community and visitors. It is a judge free zone. Both of the communities allow people to express

themselves and be who they are. Even though a certain individual might be new to the

communities, they are welcomed with open arms. People in those communities would greet that

person like they have known them their whole life. A sense of stability is established through the

order and neatness of the places. The Church and the Mosque both have certain rules and

procedures that people to keep things in order. For example, in a Mosque a person needs to take

their shoes off before entering the actual praying area. The reason is to keep the place clean. Also

before entering the prayer area and even praying a person must perform an act of cleansing

called the “wudu”. It is a type of ritual purification that involves the washing of the hands, arms,

mouth, nostrils, and feet with water. The Church on the other hand, has holy water fonts by every

entrance and people use that water to make the sign of the cross. This act for some washes away

any sins they had before entering the church. While others it is to have the blessing of the holy

water on them. This ritual is practiced by Catholic Churches. In addition, the Church passes
 AlRubie 3

around a Thurible which contains an incense that is burned during worship services. The smoke

represents the church prayers rising towards heaven.

The Mosque community runs based on the teaching of Islam. Anything that is

permissible or restricted comes from these types of teachings. The community enables the people

to fulfill their dreams. Many people in the community contribute to the success of other

members. Whether it is success in business, school, or even family hardships. Everybody gets

together to help other members. Furthermore, the community enables the feeling of belonging to

spread to every member. As being a minority in this society, the space provides its members

comfort and sense of belonging. The manners and morals practiced by each member is not going

to make them stand out like it would have in this society. For example drinking alcohol is

prohibited in Islam, other people would look at that as bizarre and weird. Another instance, is

having a girlfriend, which is a prohibited act in Islam. People who aren’t part of the Muslim

community will find that very strange. Religion differences like those make the Muslim

community stand out and being from the minority they can’t relate to their peers.

The Church Community enables and constrains several things. The community allows its

members and outsiders to express themselves without judgment. It accepts people for who they

are. New comers and outsiders are welcomed with opened arms. The space provides its members

relief from stress and allows them to let their problems out. It allows its members to feel

welcome no matter what the circumstances are. The community however constrains a few things.

Adultery is a major sin and is strongly prohibited. On service days the members are expected to

be wearing dress clothe that are formal and that show a sign of respect to the place. Too much

skin is not allowed to be visible and show of respect must be present.

 AlRubie 4

The Mosque community see themselves as people on the right path. They believe that

there is only one God and that he brought many prophets and messengers to show us the true

religion. They don’t believe they are supreme to other people nor that they have more rights than

other people. They believe everybody is equal and we all have the freedom of choice. Nobody is

derived from being on the right path. They practice their religion as the religion of peace and

submission. The whole community seeks peace and forgives the wrongdoers. Outsiders to the

community have a different view on it. They think that the community practices violence and

oppresses its members. Members of the community are looked at as backwards and savages

because of the different practices they carry out. Practices such as not drinking alcoholic

beverages or wearing clothe to cover your head and exposed skin are look at as backwards and

odd in today’s society. The media plays a big part in shaping people views and biases on the

community. Most reports that are made when an incident or crime happens would focus on the

person’s religious identity more than any other aspects of the incident if the person was Muslim.

When a good Muslim Samaritan performs a helpful act his religious background is barely

mentioned and his story barely talked about.

The church community see themselves and others as the children of god. They believe

that Jesus died for our sins and gave everybody a chance to go to heaven. They believe as long as

people believe in god their sins are already forgiven. Their view on other people is that they are

all equal and are all children of God too. Other people look at that community as excluded and

close minded. Outsiders see them as radical conservatives and need to change their views.

Members of the community can’t relate to outsiders because their views and practices are

different. Sex before marriage for most people is okay, but when it comes to the church

community it’s prohibited.

 AlRubie 5

The Church and the Mosque’s structure offer a unique experience to its members. That

particular Mosque of observation has no windows or glass to the outside. All of it lighting is

from the lights installed on the inside. The Mosque lights are unique and are shaped like lamps.

There are big lamps hanging from the ceiling too. They provide orange lights that give off a

warm and lively feeling. Each Mosque has a uniquely designed “Minbar”. The Minbar is a short

flight of steps that is used as the platform to preach. The Mosque has a lot of shelves that contain

many different religious books and many copies of the holy book. Each Mosque has different

designs and painting that show Gods name and show different artistic designs.

The Church observed had many glass painting in the walls. Their different colors and

designs bring different colors into the building. The sunlight plays a big role in the mood of the

building. It creates a special atmosphere with the different colors of the glass. The lighting adds a

friendly and even a cozy feeling to the place. Many statues are placed inside the church. Some

representing Jesus others representing Virgin Mary. Many of these statues have multiple candles

around them some lit and others are not. There is a very big statue of Jesus in the middle of the

church and is placed on a cross. Many paintings are hung up on the walls around the church.

Many people look all these statues and pray to them.

The two communities have many similarities and difference between them. Both express

their ideas in a unique way. Their communities go through same types of difficulties and biases.

Each space provides a different sense of belonging and comfort to its members. The Mosque and

the Church each ultimately gives people the peace and place to worship God.