Going to the Mosque

Friday I went to the mosque for the first time ever. I recently made a friend named Salma and she invited me and another American, Brandi, to attend mosque with her. I have studied, and taught, a lot about Islam and I find it to be a very respectable religion; however I have never entered a mosque during service and had a first hand experience of the order of service. First things first, I had to cover myself before going to mosque. Which meant I needed to cover my hair, and all my skin down to my ankles and my wrist. It wasn't so bad except that I had to cover in this way in Kenya on what I felt was the hottest day of my visit so far. Then I performed wudu, which is the process of washing the hands, feet and face, before entering the mosque. Cleaniness is a very important aspect of Islam,"For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean." (Quran 2:222) and then we crowded into 3 matatu's and went to mosque. The service was nice. Men and women were in separated so I didn't see any men in until we were dismissed. The service was in Swahili so I didn't understand anything. I prayed. I looked at people...a lot. I asked Salma a lot of questions. It all sounded really good...very positive (like most religions aim to be) but I also found it inherently sexist (like most religions are) and dogmatic (like all religions are)...so, of course I had some major disagreements with some of the things I saw and heard (as translated by Salma). But hey, no need for churches or mosques or temples for me. God is Love! The rest is unnecessary.