Ryan's experience on JUA

Today was very interesting and informative day in Boston. First, our group visited the Roxbury Mosque, the largest Mosque in the Northeast. It was amazing to see a building to see such a large building made out of mostly bricks. We weren’t able to go inside today, but we learned all about how people go there to worship and pray to Allah.

After that, we visited the Islamic Society of Boston in Cambridge. We talked to a Muslim woman from Morocco, who gave us a lot of information on the religion as well as the culture. We asked her about our group’s theme, “Why do they hate us?” She assured us that she as well as most of the Islamic religion did not hate us, and it was the small group of terrorists that did. She also told us about how they pray and how often they pray. Next, she made sure she answered our questions to the best of her ability, and let us witness a prayer session. She made it so that the girls and boys in our group were separated, because that is how Muslims have to pray.

In conclusion, aside from the frigid walking around, I enjoyed our first day in Boston very much. I feel as though I have already learned a lot of information to answer the question “Why do they hate us?” Tomorrow, hopefully we can end our Junior Urban Experience in a bang and learn some more about the Islamic religion.