General Studies 450: Mosquée de Paris

About a week ago, our group with Madame DuParc made a little excursion over to the grand mosque of Paris, a trip for the students in 422 (which I am not in), but I definitely wanted to attend, not just for the blog assignment. It was definitely something I never thought I would ever do on my own or without an educational chaperon. It perhaps is the same as when I went to my first Catholic mass here in Paris...I went with my friend Nora, which made it all less of an uncomfortable, outsider-ish feeling if you catch my drift. For me, Islam is a relgion that I feel the farthest from. Perhaps it is the odd socialization American culture has wth Islam and Muslim culture, but going to a mosque was perhaps the most foreign of things I have done in Paris. It was definitely a great experience, one that I am thankful to have experienced.

If you did not know, France has the highest percentage of Muslims out of all of Europe, which creates a cultural influence and various issues in society such as racism and all that jazz that unfortunately plagues anything foreign and unfamiliar.

We started by taking a walk along the river Seine, which if you have seen the movie Paris Je t'aime, is the same walk the couple met when going to the mosque in one scene of the movie. We walked up to the mosque which is definitely an architectural stand-out compared to the other French buildings surrounding it. Upon entering I immediately noticed the immense detail in practically every part of the mosque, from the mosaique tiled walls, the marble floors, the ornate cleaning fountains, and the prayer room...the mosque was just so beautiful! Most of the mosque was constructed in Paris, many of its greatly detailed lanterns and wood work was hand crafted on-site in Paris by experienced artisans brought in from North African countries (culturally Islamic nations). Other parts of the mosque were crafted in North Africa, primarily in Morocco and Algeria. Upon completion, the mosque represented the great presence of Islam in Paris, as well as France.

From our tour guide, we learned much about Islam's history as well as modern presence here in France. We were described the prayer process and the immense amount of details that go into prayers....kind of overly tedious in my opinion....but all in all, interesting to hear about and see in action. I was already familiar with the pillars of Islam from other history classes, which were discussed in detail by our tour guide.

After the tour of the mosque, Kristin, Leslie, and I went to the Café at the mosque where we enjoyed very delicious pastries and some Thé à la Menthe (traditional mint tea). It was a really nice, relaxing way to end the day at the mosque, sipping on hot tea, munching on very rich sweet baked goods, and enjoying conversation.

After the tour, Leslie, Kristin, and I walked down the street to an old Roman Gladiator Stadium where we played photo shoot and pretended to fight like Gladiators....'til death! haha.

Bisoux.