Volu m e I - Purdue University Calumet

Believe in all the books. 4) Belief in Angels. 5) There will be a Day of Judgment. 6) Belief in Divine
Destiny. The different requirements and rules vary depending on gender in the Muslim community. For
example, Muslim men are allowed to marry women from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam while women
are only allowed to marry within the Islamic religion. Men as long as they can properly provide for them
are allowed to have up to four wives. While women take on a more restrictive role in the Muslim
community. A good example is that women are required to pray either behind the men in the mosque or in
a separate room entirely (Abdo. 108). However, this point is a controversial issue in the western Muslim
community, because of the clashing perspectives of the traditional Muslims, versus the more liberal modern
Muslims.
The mosque is the unique religious structure that is the home to Islam. The Mosque does not have a
unified architectural structure. It has taken on many different forms and adaptions in order to meet the
needs of the Islamic community. In the United States where Muslim communities are seen as minority
groups, mosques have erupted in many different shapes, including the traditional dome that is associated
with Islam, store front buildings that were converted into places of worship, and small houses that have
been adapted among many others.
The pictures above are of the longest standing “purpose built” mosque in the United States, which is located
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Muslim-American community has been very creative in fulfilling their religious
and community needs in order to maintain their connection with “Allah”. For the Islamic community there
are three important mosques. Mecca is considered the most important or sacred city in Islam, it is said to be
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