First time in a Mosque
Believe it or not, I have never been in a mosque my whole life till last weekend. Despite having Malays friends in my school days, and training with my teammates when they were fasting, I have not set foot into any one of those places of worship.
Last Saturday, I was assigned to cover the Aidilfitri morning prayers at Ar-Raudhah Mosque at Bukit Batok. I arrived earlier than the 8am prayer time, but the mosque was already full, with some Muslim men waiting outside to get in. There were buses to take those who could not get in to other prayer locations nearby. The thousands of slippers left outside is quite an unusual sight. The Muslim men were very orderly, there were no pushing and shoving. When the prayer starts inside, they simply started praying on the floor outside, and I started working. I was a bit worried that the sound of my camera shutter would disrupt their prayers, but there were not disapproving faces through my viewfinder.
Once inside the prayer hall, I made my way through those who were seated on the carpet floor, to the front of the prayer hall. There was enough space for all to sit comfortably and I made pictures, without any protest from anyone. The ceiling was extricately decorated and the prayer hall had rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors for prayers too. I had a grand view from the front.
We were one of the last to leave the mosque after the interviews and reception, I cant help taking a few shots of the interior, impressed with the cleanliness, serene ambience and well-organised crowd. On top of that, my sandals was left at the exact spot where I left them, after hundred or even thousands devotees had left with theirs. My initial worries about not able to find them was unfounded.
Last Saturday, I was assigned to cover the Aidilfitri morning prayers at Ar-Raudhah Mosque at Bukit Batok. I arrived earlier than the 8am prayer time, but the mosque was already full, with some Muslim men waiting outside to get in. There were buses to take those who could not get in to other prayer locations nearby. The thousands of slippers left outside is quite an unusual sight. The Muslim men were very orderly, there were no pushing and shoving. When the prayer starts inside, they simply started praying on the floor outside, and I started working. I was a bit worried that the sound of my camera shutter would disrupt their prayers, but there were not disapproving faces through my viewfinder.
Once inside the prayer hall, I made my way through those who were seated on the carpet floor, to the front of the prayer hall. There was enough space for all to sit comfortably and I made pictures, without any protest from anyone. The ceiling was extricately decorated and the prayer hall had rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors for prayers too. I had a grand view from the front.
We were one of the last to leave the mosque after the interviews and reception, I cant help taking a few shots of the interior, impressed with the cleanliness, serene ambience and well-organised crowd. On top of that, my sandals was left at the exact spot where I left them, after hundred or even thousands devotees had left with theirs. My initial worries about not able to find them was unfounded.
posted by Kwang Peng at 1:15 AM
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