Church Street: Anjuman-e-Ezzi Masjid
June 06, 2010
Right next door to the Emanuel-Brinklow Seventh-Day Adventist Church is this stately mosque:
It looked abandoned when I took this photo. The light shining in the second-floor window made me think that it was still an active place of worship, so I googled and wiki-ed (there, a new verb!) until I found their site.
This masjid, or mosque, is the holy house of the Islamic sect Dawoodi Bohra, an Indian offshoot of Ismail Shia Islam. But the masjid is not just for religious observances:
The Dawoodi Bohra mosque, in
addition to its primary function as a site for prayers and madrasa,
should take into account the hospitality concept of the community.
Almost every religious function is followed by a jaman (meal)
and when ever the Dai-al Mutlaq graces the community with his visit,
all the mumin from around the world are invited. The common area is
designed to be flexible, to accomodate [sic] for such circumstances.
Worship and eating -- a common thread among all the religions!