Education City Mosque

March 7, 2023

Our first site visit was one of the most powerful for me. We started Tuesday morning at the Education City Mosque. Initially, we planned to visit both this mosque and another, more traditional one later in the week. The latter visit was unfortunately canceled, and I was disappointed not to have that other side of the worship experience in Qatar. The Education City Mosque felt modern, sleek, and intellectual. I did not have the opportunity to interact with many of the mosque's members, but I would not be surprised if they were on the younger and more affluent end of the spectrum. 

Affectionately called "the spaceship," the mosque displays bold and beautiful design. As one who loves to take pictures--especially pictures of architecture and design--I was in my element. The glass panels and curved lines of the exterior played with the sunlight and sky. This building was definitely built to stand out. The Education City Mosque is actually two facilities -- a worship space on one side and an Islamic university on the other. 

The time of our visit didn't line up with any scheduled prayers, so we were able to explore the site. We were greeted by Sulaiman Bah, who is responsible for the mosque's education programs. A native of Virginia, Sulaiman decided to move to Qatar after college and pursue a career in spiritual leadership. Dressed in suit, scarf, and cowboy hat, Sulaiman spent the next hour leading us through the space and explaining the ins and outs of Muslim communal worship. 

I learned that every mosque should have a minaret, or tower. Traditionally, someone would be tasked with climbing the tower to announce the adhan, or call to prayer. The Education City Mosque has two of these minarets that rise up like angled horns. They don't serve the original purpose--no one is climbing up that concrete spike--but they do still symbolically provide a beacon for those looking to pray.

I appreciated learning more about the preparation for worship. When worshippers arrive, they work their way up to the second floor. They leave their shoes in the rows upon rows of cubbies and make their way to the bathrooms. Inside, they begin the cleansing ritual. They wash their hands, then their mouth and nose, followed by their arms. Then they clean their scalps, the inside and the outside of their ears, and finally their feet. This ritual not only cleans the individual, but it also has a meditative quality, allowing the worshipper to remove themselves from the thoughts and distractions of their daily lives. Shoes are not worn inside the mosque, since the entire floor serves as a worship space. The interior is carpeted in a cool blue-grey, with parallel lines in gold designating rows for worshippers. These lines continued outside into the courtyard, which allowed for an expanded space during times of higher attendance. 

Worshippers enter into the space and speak the allahu akbar, a prayerful saying that begins their time in worship. Services are held in Arabic, though translation is provided for worshippers in English, Urdu, and Arabic Sign Language (ArSL). I was interested to learn that some mosques around Doha do have services in languages other than Arabic. 

 

The aesthetic of the Education City Mosque was breathtaking. So many of the building's elements were designed to remind the visitor of elements of the Muslim faith. I was greeted by four streams of moving water that flowed from the exterior walkways into a glassed atrium inside the entrance. Each stream represented a promise of Paradise from the Quran -- with colored tiles representing honey, wine, milk, and water. A large garden contained plants mentioned in the holy book. The large columns on the exterior (pictured above) contain script for the five pillars of the Muslim faith. Since these posts support the worship space above, the mosque's attendants are literally praying atop the foundation of their faith. 

Sulaiman explained to us that Islam is traditionally against iconography, so the sacred images and decorations that might be present in other worship spaces are not found in mosques. Instead, beauty and interest are brought into the space through calligraphy, geometry, light, and color. A large white band of letters swooped and curled across the white ceiling, creating a monochromatic feature. The verse translates to "those who believe, do good, establish prayer, and pay alms-tax will receive their reward from their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve." Other verses allowed the words of the faith to weave and wind throughout the building and grounds. On the windows overlooking the garden, large steel script was attached to scaffolds that created a backdrop to the space. The verse comes from a chapter of the Quran on ethical values, and instructs how a community should live together. The garden serves as a bridge between the worship space and the academic wing of the building.

Back inside, triangles in the ceiling alternate between mirror and skylight, allowing light to play across the space. The most significant pop of color is the silver and gold in the mehrab -- a semicircular notch in the wall that identifies the direction of Mecca and the location for the prayer leader. 

Worshippers of the Mosque may come to participate in daily prayers or the weekly Juma services. There are two cycles of prayer each morning, followed by four in the afternoon, three in the evening, and four more at night. Clocks along the wall display these prayer times, though most Qataris use an app to figure out the time and direction of their prayers. Because different imams select their own verses to read, the entire Quran is recited every day somewhere in the world.