What You Will See Inside a Mosque [Hardcover]

Aisha Karen Khan (Author), Aaron Pepis (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: What You Will See Inside...

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

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

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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 aMosque 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. The second in the What You Will See Inside series, this book introduces children to Islam by welcoming them into a mosque. Amid discussions of the five pillars of Islam and forthright explanations of such hot-button topics as the role of women in Islam, readers see most every part of a traditional mosque (Pepis' crisp, engaging photographs showcase two small mosques in New York). The book even takes readers into the bathroomlike wudu area, where Muslims cleanse themselves before prayer. Unfortunately, there are no scenes of Muslims actually at prayer, which would show the richly ritualized series of prostrations that prove Khan's prescient assertion that "a mosque is just a building. It is the people that make the religion." Still, the straightforward prose provides a comprehensive introduction both to Islam and to the mosque, a place of worship that remains foreign to many young people. For a closer look at a mosque's design and construction, see the review of David Macaulay's Mosque on p.330. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 31 pages
• Publisher: Skylight Paths Publishing (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893361608
• ISBN-13: 978-1893361607
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Religions > Islam

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inside Story on Mosques, September 4, 2003

By 

S. Baloch (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What You Will See Inside a Mosque (Hardcover)

This book is a wonderful way to introduce an elementary-age child to Muslim practices. The author provides simple explanations of concepts that Muslims take for granted, especially those details that mosque-goers forget to explain to visitors, like the presence of shoe racks and wudu sinks. I highly recommend this book for interfaith purposes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, June 29, 2003

By 

A. Shah "random reader" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What You Will See Inside a Mosque (Hardcover)

This book made me take a whole different view on islam. The pictures and descriptions were extraordinary. This book changed my view of what a mosque looked like from the inside.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Youth view of a mosque, February 25, 2005

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What You Will See Inside a Mosque (Hardcover)

See "Celebrating Ramadan" by D. Hoyt-Goldsmith for photos as to how the Muslim prayer ritual is to be conducted.