Wednesday 

I'll try to take some pictures to illustrate this sometime, or I might even put the video on site if I ever get to be able to afford the convertor. Until then you'll just have to make do with the words.


Evening Call - 02/02/94

Interior of Main Gallery
Including prayer mat

X-Fade shots of Prayer mat

Floral patterns

Arch

Lamp

In the St. Mungo's Museum, it would seem that Islam has very little to contribute to "Religious Art". Muslims don't use images in worship, and we have no ritual objects to display. Even the prayer mat isn't essential for our prayers, but as I kneel and place my forehead on the ground when praying, a small carpet acts as a portable clean place to keep my face out of the muck. These magic carpets are often woven with floral patterns to remind us of the Gardens of Paradise, and often include the shape of an arch or alcove, sometimes with a hanging lamp because God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth.  
 


Ka'aba pictures

Islam display cabinet

Modern prayer mat

Close in on Compass

 

 A mosque will usually have an alcove positioned to indicate the direction of Ka'aba, the temple in Makkah dedicated to the worship of the One and Only God, built by Abraham and Ismail in ancient times, long before the Temple of Solomon. The first thing muslims do when making formal prayers is to face Ka'aba, the Ancient House, and some modern prayer mats even have a compass built in. You have to know which way you are facing, the direction in which you are heading.  
 

View along old prayer mat

Up to Ahmed Moustafa painting
In our prayers, muslims have a frequent reminder of something that humans so easily forget. If you are trying to get somewhere it's not enough to put all your effort into running. You're just wasting all that effort if you're not facing in the right direction.