I had been meaning to visit this Mosque for a while, purely out of curiously. The Mevlana Rumi Mosque is a converted library that was acquired in 2008 and is a beautiful space. I arrived for Friday Jummah early to get a chance to look around.
There was a beautiful openness about the people (mostly Turkish I assumed) none of this ‘oh sister this is the men’s entrance’ or ‘please no pictures’ I was greeted with warm smiles. The layout is still very much like a library with a small breakout/café space to the left of the entrance.
When entering I saw a sign near the stairs saying ‘Ladies wudu’ , I went upstairs assuming that the prayer space would also be there, but there were classrooms and a very small toilet [definitely not Wudhu friendly]. I walked back down and asked where the ladies section was, I made sure I called beforehand to check they had a ladies section. I was directed outside the building to the right and round the back to the entrance. When finding the space I was quite disappointed, it was a small section located at the back of the main prayer hall put together with dividers. After having just taken pictures of the grand prayer hall in men’s section it was a sad comparison.
One thing I don’t like is when you feel disconnected from the main prayer, this often happens in ladies spaces, I like to be able to see the Imam, or at least a screen, being completely segregated from the space for me is the same as praying at home, yes the reward of praying in a Mosque is there but why is that the experience should feel any less than that of the male.
I stared blankly at the wall through the Khutba. It was difficult to follow or connect as the Iman was saying the Khutba in a mixture of English and Turkish, I understand that the majority of the regular attendees may be Turkish but I would have preferred it to be solely in Turkish and then in English. Halfway through the Khutba the Iman walked up the stairs of the mimbar and I could suddenly see half of the Iman over the divider, I found it hilarious. Other ladies continued staring blankly at the carpet whilst I was watched and became more engaged.
Overall the Khutba was ok, the Imam seemed connected to his community and his English was good. I was very disappointed with the facilities, the space just seemed like an obligation as opposed to a space, this may be due to the number of women that use the space, the turnout was about 10 women. The toilet and Wudhu facilities were located in the men’s section round the front. For someone coming for their first time or if someone came late this would be a problem, after the Khutba I went over to the toilet only to have to wait until all the men left the exit so I could actually enter, ridiculous.
