{"id":3005,"date":"2011-01-25T10:54:33","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T06:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=3005"},"modified":"2011-01-25T10:58:13","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T06:58:13","slug":"can-a-non-muslim-visit-a-mosque-in-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-society\/can-a-non-muslim-visit-a-mosque-in-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a non-Muslim visit a Mosque in Saudi Arabia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One thing that will likely stand out to a non-Muslim expatriate in Saudi Arabia are the number of mosques.\u00a0 For example, from my villa in Riyadh there were no less than 8 mosques within a three minute walk of each other.\u00a0 This is not a coincidence either.\u00a0 Part of the custom and tradition in Saudi Arabia is for each neighborhood to have a minimum of one mosque.\u00a0 For many, one of the greatest honors is to be able to build a mosque in honor of a loved one who has passed away.<\/p>\n

But, can a non-Muslim expatriate enter a mosque in Saudi Arabia?\u00a0 After all, non-Catholics can enter the Vatican and non-Christians are welcomed at churches around the world.\u00a0 While the holy mosques of Makkah and Medina are off-limits to non-Muslims, the rest of the country and its mosques are open.\u00a0 However, there are protocols which must be followed.<\/p>\n

Any expatriate, male or female, should enter a mosque clean.\u00a0 A woman\u2019s face should be free of make-up. As a non-Muslim it is recommended that he or she not enter the mosque during the time of prayer but rather between prayer times.\u00a0 Similar to entering a church, he or she should be respectful and quiet.<\/p>\n

First of all, for a woman, not every mosque will necessarily have a women\u2019s section.\u00a0 However if there is a women\u2019s section then it would be okay to enter.\u00a0 A woman must be properly covered and in this case she should not only wear the abaya but also have her hair properly covered and tucked away in her hijjab.\u00a0 She should not forget to take off her shoes for individuals enter the mosque either barefoot or wearing socks. I recommend after entering, she kneel down on her knees and quietly take in the essence and ambiance.\u00a0 It is NOT appropriate to take photographs from within a mosque, especially if it is a local neighborhood mosque.<\/p>\n

The non-Muslim expatriate man should also be properly dressed.\u00a0 He does not need to wear a thobe but he should be wearing pants which fall below the knee.\u00a0 Sleeveless shirts or tank tops are not appropriate.\u00a0 The man should also remove his shoes and leave them outside before entering.\u00a0 Just like a women\u2019s section, he should not take photographs or talk loudly.<\/p>\n

Be sensitive to where you are and what is going on around you before choosing to enter a mosque.\u00a0 If you are in an area unknown to you, then it may be better not to enter a mosque until you are more familiar with the area and surroundings.\u00a0 If entering a mosque and there are Muslims inside, if you are given looks of suspicion or feel like you are intruding, then quietly exit.<\/p>\n

Always remember a mosque is a place of prayer and worship for Muslims.\u00a0 It is not a museum.\u00a0 The ideal way to visit a mosque as a non-Muslim in Saudi is to be taken to the mosque by a muslim who can also be a defacto guide and readily answer any questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AMERICAN BEDU: Are mosques open for non-Muslims? The answer is ‘yes’ but respect for certain protocols must be shown. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":3006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,5],"tags":[18290,18275],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3005"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}