Tempe Houses of Worship photography project, Masjid Omar Ibn Al-Khattab

DateJuly 4, 2012

MediumPaper

Dimensions8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)

ClassificationsDocumentary Artifact

Catalog number2012.12.32

DescriptionInterior photographic view of Masjid Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, 6225 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe, 85283.
Per Dick George's catalogue notes:

"Date of Construction: Originally a neighborhood bank; remodeled into a mosque in 2001.

Formerly a bank, Masjid Omar Bin Al-Khattab has been remodeled to suit Islamic customs and standards. On the northeast corner, a niche in the wall points toward Mecca. On the mosque floor, lines in the highly polished marble tiles and the ornate rugs are arranged in a north-south orientation. The ceiling over the center of the mosque is wood placed in a pattern of concentric squares; surrounding areas are acoustical tile.

The walls, floors, and ceiling closest to the niche are highly polished marble, in several places inlaid with black marble forming texts from the Qur'an in Arabic script.

In the southeast corner of the mosque, black wooden or metal frames containing frosted glass form the separation between areas where women pray apart from men.

On the special day I was invited to visit, July 13, 2012, an 11-year old boy, Farhan Alam, was receiving his final lesson from two teachers and being celebrated by the mosque for having memorized the entire Qur'an. Photos HOW 32 15-18 show young Farhan standing in the mosque between his teachers, Momin Shakoor (left) and Hasan Shaikh (right).

Most men arrived in casual attire - a few such as the boy's father wore immaculate traditional suits - and women wore burqas, head to toe garments which cover the entire body, leaving only their faces exposed to view. Most such burqas were black; one or two elder women, however, wore veils and colored garments likewise covering head to toe, but introducing solemn hues of blue, red, or purple."

Status

Not on view

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