OPINION: A Kafir’s* First Visit to His Community’s Mosque *non-Muslim

 Seeking a local snapshot of the growing Muslim influx and impact in America, I recently made my first-ever mosque visit.  I attended a Friday (holy day) worship service at the mosque located in my hometown of Reno.

A 2024 Brookings Institution poll showed that 52% of Americans hold unfavorable views of Islam, the religion of Muslims. It saddens me to say that I would be counted among that group – now more than ever.

I didn’t always feel this way.

Over decades as an educator, I had valued friendships with half-a-dozen Muslim students and their families from all over the world. The families’ adherence to Islamic teachings varied greatly, but their emphasis was always more cultural than religious.

But that was years ago, and times have changed.

The goal of my recent mosque visitation was to make a comparison: the alarming media messages we hear about the growth and impact of Islam in America, versus what I would see and hear firsthand inside our local mosque in the Nevada desert.

Identifying Itself to the Community?

On my chosen Friday, my GPS said I’d arrived at the mosque, but there was no way to confirm that.

A large sign in front of the building didn’t mention one word about Islam or Muslims, nor did it have their religion’s crescent/star symbol.

The sign had only an unexplained 5-letter acronym and the Arabic word “Masjid.”

All Arabic-speaking Reno-ites could immediately have translated that as “mosque and community center.” However, the other 99.9% of our Arabic-illiterate community would have been completely unaware of this large and growing activity in our midst.

It was puzzling why a religion that claims to welcome everyone had gone out of its way to avoid publicly identifying Islam’s presence in the community.

Welcoming the Community?

When I entered the mosque, out of approximately 500 male and female attendees, I was the only non-Muslim.

• Two mosque leaders had told me several days prior to my visit that they would meet and tour me around the mosque when I arrived. They never showed up.

When asked, a young man told me where I could store my shoes, as they are not allowed inside the worship area.

His brief response was virtually the only acknowledgement of my existence from the hundreds of worshippers who filled the building.

Before and after the service, male and female attendees milled around me with total indifference as though I were invisible. The women, in particular, responded to my presence with what felt like a combination of irritability and unwanted intrusion.

The effect of America’s open-door immigration policy was obvious, as the attendees, with few exceptions, appeared to be Middle Eastern or Asian immigrants.

The majority of the immigrants seemed to be either relatively new and quite young, or longer-term immigrants who had apparently decided they had no interest in assimilating into American culture. Over one-third of the men appeared to be under 30 years old.

The Worship Service and the Sermon (read carefully)

An Imam conducted the entire worship service. They are a combination prayer leader, sermonizer, counselor, and local expert on Islamic theology.

The Imam spoke almost exclusively in Arabic, except for the sermon, which he gave in English.  His sermon seemed normal enough . . . at first.

The Imam began by urging Muslim men to encourage young males to take Islam’s teachings more seriously: making these teachings the center of their lives.

This segued into the Imam reminding his audience that life is fleeting and can end at any time. Young men in particular want to make sure they’re living with total commitment to Islam.

A “Religion of Peace?”

The Imam closed his sermon with a hopeful possibility.

If the older men convinced the younger ones to become strongly committed Muslims, he said, some of them might be inspired to grow up and make the sacrifice to become:

• Jihadis

• Martyrs, or

• Implementers of Fatwas

You definitely want to become acquainted with the meaning of those 3 terms.  

Statistics show that 80% of all recorded international terrorist attacks, for decades, have been committed by Islamic terrorists who would fit into one of those 3 categories promoted by the Imam.  https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/islamist-terrorist-attacks-in-the-world-1979-2019/

The Imam’s positive reference to murderous extremists was not the only inconsistency I observed by a faith that promotes itself as a “religion of peace.”

Upon entering the Reno mosque, the first thing I observed was not an American flag – but a Palestinian one. The words, “Pray for Palestine” were written on it. The message this conveyed was the mosque’s support for the October 7, 2023 brutal massacre and sexualized murder of 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children by Muslim terrorists from Palestine.

My visit left me greatly concerned regarding 3 things I’d hoped to see at our local mosque.

• I’d hoped to see interest in assimilation, support of American culture, and/or a desire to become an integral part of building our community.

I saw no evidence of any of these.

• I’d hoped to see willingness to dialogue with the Reno religious community about Islamic teachings regarding opposition, avoidance, and violence toward non-Muslims.

I made multiple attempts to schedule a meeting with the local Imam to discuss these issues. None of my calls were returned.

• I’d hoped to hear an unequivocal message denouncing all violence by Muslim extremists.

Instead, the Imam’s sermon and the mosque’s exhibited Palestinian flag message supported this violence and those who commit it.

I learned a lot of very concerning things from a 1-hour mosque visit and follow-up research.

You would, too . . . including the fact that the information I shared about Islam in America (and Reno) is just the tip of the iceberg, and America is on a collision course with it.

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