A mosque in Georgetown

At the end of the day today, I somehow found myself in the main mosque in Georgetown. There seem to be several small mosques around town, although given the multi-ethnic and multi-religious nature of Malaysia, none seem to dominate the town's architectural landscape as a church does in Latin America or a mosque in the Middle East. Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Chinese ancestral temples, Anglican churches, and mosques are scattered around the town (Okay, no synagogues, but oddly enough there is a street called "Lebuh (Street) Katz").

I got into a conversation with the security guard and what appeared to be the mosque's PR guy. To make a long conversation less long, he seemed to say that Islam was very similar to Christianity and Judaism (assuming I came from a Judeo-Christian background), albeit a more pure, less adulterated religion that has avoided the corruption that comes with institutionalization and cultural adaptation . On the other hand, when the subject of gender equality came up, he admitted that what Muslim societies often practice isn't what Islam actually says. No surprises there. I did want to ask him, but didn't get the chance, why during prayer time all the women were off in a little cordoned-off room, whereas the men got to pray in the main prayer area. Separate, and certainly not equal.

I should say, though, that I am always impressed by the intense devotion of Muslims. Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day, and visitors to Muslim societies can attest to the (sometimes deafening) frequent calls to prayer, and the subsequent emptying of streets. The centrality of prayer, I think, sets Islam apart from the way most other religions are practiced.

On the subject of institutionalized religion, I remember reading something by some guy who practiced Sufism, a kind of mysticized Islam. I think the article was actually in reference to esoteric Christianity, but I'm getting off topic. The point was the guy said that mystics have always been persecuted, because they show that people don't need institutions (the Catholic church, for instance) to connect with God or higher powers.