What you see in the first photo is actually a housing garage for a large roll-out prayer rug. When prayer times come around, the unit is opened, and the prayer rug is rolled out. It can accommodate quite a few worshippers for prayer. When the prayers are over, the carpet is simply rolled back up into the storage unit.
The red prayer rugs shown in the second photo are also used for public prayer times. These are just left on the sidewalk for worshippers. Sometimes they are rolled up or folded so they don't get so dusty.
...yesterday they would have been covered with snow here!
ReplyDeleteThe roll-up rug is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteraising hand to ask a question . . .
ReplyDeleteIs there separate provision for ladies?
Are there private places provided?
Thank you for considering -
love & love,
-g-
Hi Maggid - Very good question. Many places (like malls and work places) provide prayer areas or separate prayer rooms for men and women. From my observations, most women prefer not to pray in public. I have seen women praying in public but it's rare. In one larger group that I observed, the men were all in rows in front of the women. It would not be considered decent or proper for a woman to pray in front of a man. During prayer, many different movements and body positions are involved, one being knees on the ground with the body bending forward touching the forehead to the ground and the rear end sticking up. Having women pray in front of men could be a distraction for them during prayer.
ReplyDelete