WHAT YOU WILL SEE INSIDE A MOSQUE

As a woman who has embraced Islam, Khan is eager to share her religion with North American children. With its handsome layout, consisting of two-page spreads with one large, clear photograph occupying one page and text and smaller photographs with detailed captions on the other, this introduction to the holy buildings used by the Islamic faithful offers enough detail to provide both an accurate picture of the characteristics of a contemporary mosque in the US and some insight into the Islamic religion itself. Using photos taken in two suburban mosques in New York, Khan describes the different areas of the buildings, including the ritual washing area, the prayer hall, the school rooms, the reading room or library, and the minaret or tower. She discusses some practices in the Middle East, South Asia, and other parts of the Muslim world, but also speaks about specific North American adaptations, such as having to go back to work on Friday after midday prayer. Succinct, but informative, this can be used by schools, families, and religious education groups to encourage some sorely needed tolerance in this time of international strife. (Nonfiction. 6-10)