Sunday, December 3, 2017

Choosing a prayer spot

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How many of us would conquer any shyness and just do the prayers wherever we find ourselves when the set prayer hours arrive?
Just put off your shoes, kneel down, and do the prostrations?
In Israel you see Muslims (well, mainly men) praying in many public open spaces.
Like this Bedouin father on the lawn at Beer Sheva's Soroka hospital last week.


While exploring the medical center's sprawling campus I discovered this dedicated [Muslim] "Prayer Room."


The door on the right, as you can see from the water running out, is the place to do ritual ablution before prayer.


Soroka's Prayer Room is open at these times during morning, noon, and evening for the five obligatory prayers.
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UPDATE: I read now that Soroka was the first Israeli hospital to open a Muslim prayer room, sometime before 2003.
After a petition was filed in 2013, the High Court of Justice instructed the six largest hospitals to also build such a prayer room.   See article in Haaretz .
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While this is not exactly the "inspirational" religious architecture that bloggers share every weekend at inSPIRED Sunday, still, I'm linking it to the meme.  And also to Our World Tuesday.
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11 comments:

  1. It may be a common sight there but I have never seen it in the UK

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  2. ...accommodating differences is an act of civility.

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  3. I've seen on occasions Muslims taking prayer time in places on campus here, and there is a designated prayer room as well.

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  4. Kudos to the brave ones who just go ahead and pray, even out in public. I did see this once here in our city, but it is a very rare sight.

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  5. Where i live there is a very large Muslim community, but I have never seen people praying in public.

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  6. A sensitive group of pictures on the subject of prayer. Wel done.

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  7. I'm sure you can imagine my delight at this post! Thanks, Dina.

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  8. I agree with Cloudia...it's wonderful to see such tolerance when the world is in turmoil. Now, the furor over which city is or isn't the capital...I hope Donald Trump hasn't fomented an uprising of intolerance, or worse, Dina.
    Kay
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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