Conspicuous Mosque

Today, we have one of our rare "Mosque Fridays". Newark has a fairly large Moslem population, but most of its mosques, or "masjids", are very inconspicuous. ("Masjid" is the original word from which "mosque" derives, via (going backwards) French, Italian, and Spanish(!), and to which some Moslems have reverted.) This masjid, on South 11th Street, is unusual in having what at first appears to be a lighthouse on top, but which would actually seem to serve as minaret from which the call to prayer can be sung by a muezzin (live or recorded).

I chanced to see it in driving from the Central Ward to North Newark to look for St. Rose of Lima R.C. Church (see this week's "Church Sunday", coming up), and did not stop near the entrance to see if I could check out the inside, even tho I saw a man in a kaftan near the front. Besides, I didn't want to take my shoes off. I've had surgery on both knees, and unless there's something for me to sit on, taking shoes off or putting them on is a hassle for me.