Muslims in Britain

One of the most educational places that I have been so far in London was to the Central Mosque. The Muslim religion is the one of the main three (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) that I know the least about. Since I have grown up in a Christian church and have a good friend who is Jewish, I have been exposed to those religions and know a lot about their traditions and beliefs. In London, however, there is a very large Muslim population, which has made me more aware of their culture.
Something that I was unsure of before visiting the mosque was whether or not Muslims believed in the same God as Christians and Jews. I was intrigued to find out that they do! It surprises me that all three of these religions can worship the same God, yet still have so many conflicts. Muslims even believe in many of the same stories as found in the Torah and Old Testament. Even though London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, because of terrorist activities here, people are sometimes prejudice towards Mulsims. When our guide through the mosque mentioned this occurrence, he brushed it off as though prejudice was something he was accustomed to. This lifestyle of knowing that people may be scared of you but simply not caring was eye opening.
Their custom of going to the mosque five times a day is very different from ours in which we only go to church on Sundays. Also, when they pray, they do it in groups in order to build community, whereas for Christians prayer is more of a private event. The way in which the women are viewed is quite a culture shock as well. The women must cover themselves and be separated from the men during times of prayer in order to give the women more respect, and prevent the men from sexual temptation. This culture is quite a bit different from American culture where women aim to dress provocatively and be viewed as sexy.
Despite the discriminations toward them and the amount of time and dedication required, there are over 2 million practicing Muslims in the UK. Since they take up such a large population of London I am grateful for being able to learn about their culture during my trip to the Mosque.