Mosque Tourism in Dubai

Apparently it’s all the rage—at least at Jumeirah Mosque. Tours aimed at boosting understanding of Islam among Western tourists have expanded, according to an AP story, “from irregular gatherings of a dozen people to five-times-weekly tours of a hundred or more.” And what’s more, “Now, the government-linked center wants to expand inside the United Arab Emirates and beyond with an eye on the more than 1 million Westerners, mostly Europeans, who visit every year.”

The tours sound downright pleasant:

On a recent Sunday, about 100 Western tourists reclined on perfumed carpet under the soaring dome of the Jumeirah Mosque to listen to [Abdallah bin Eisa] al-Serkal describe the beliefs of 1.5 billion Muslims, with references to common themes in Judaism and Christianity.

He explained the idea behind Ramadan fasting—sacrificing things you like—and demonstrated Muslim prayer technique: standing, bowing, kneeling, sitting and then pressing his forehead to the carpet.

Then he revealed the contents of his prayers. Standing, he cleared his mind of anything related to work. Kneeling he recited a bit of the Quran. Prostrate, he whispered “glory to God in the highest.” And sitting he prayed for his parents.

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