This photo essay was produced by a member of the Al Jisr Collective.
I heard about the 'Taraweeh' prayer from friends. They told me it is a special prayer Muslims do during Ramadan. I wanted to learn more about it, so I decided to visit a mosque that is close to the University of Arizona campus on East 1st Street, where Muslim worshippers gather and pray. I met and spoke with the Imam of the mosque, and had some meaningful conversations with those in the community.
I was allowed to take photos to share with the audience of The Daily Wildcat Al Jisr project.
When you enter the mosque, you find this infographic on the wall, which explains the 'Five Pillars of Islam.' Prayer is the second one as you can see in the photo.
The Imam told me that there are five prayers that Muslims do every day. Fajr (at sunrise), Dhuhr (at noon), Asr (during the afternoon), Maghrib (at sunset) and Isha (the night prayer).
In this mosque, which is part of the Islamic Center of Tucson, a community center and prayer space, the time is kept on a big screen at the right end of the mosque, where it is possible to see the different times when each prayer is scheduled.
Essentially, every prayer consists of a repetition of movements called Rak’a. One single Rak’a consists of a praying moment standing, one kneeling, one touching the floor, before going up again and repeating for a second Rak’a.
In their practice, Muslims do two Rak’a for Fajr, three for Maghrib, four for Dhuhr, Asr and Isha and eight for Taraweeh. Muslims recite the Quran during every prayer they do. Sometimes it's a whisper, sometimes out loud.
Taraweeh prayer is a special prayer Muslims perform only in the month of Ramadan. Muslims are encouraged to do it, but it is not obligatory.
Taraweeh may be as long or short as you like, depending on your ability to read or recite, and on your energy level. In a mosque, the Taraweeh will last for one and a half to two hours, sometimes more.
The people I met in the mosque told me that they can spend time there after the prayer, talking to one another, or doing more prayer, reading the Quran or any other books.
Men and women are doing their prayer separately but sometimes they can be together as well.
Al Jisr – The Bridge – is a collaboration among students and faculty from four public universities in Yemen and faculty and students at The University of Arizona. Students from University of Aden, Hadramout University, Taiz University, University of Saba Region and the UA are participating in this nine-month exchange project that includes talking about culture and media practices in Yemen and the U.S. Some student work is presented under the Al Jisr collective name for the security and safety of those contributors.