Year 5 - East London Muslim Centre Trip

Over the last 3 weeks, year 5 have been very busy learning all about the religion Islam in their RE lessons. We have learnt all about the history and traditions of the Muslim faith. There are over 2.5 million Muslims in the UK and over 1,500 mosques.

Last Monday and Tuesday, both Elm and Maple class pupils visited the East London Muslim Centre and mosque. We were joined by Sharmina, who taught us all about Islam and the features of a mosque.

We learnt that the top of the minaret is always the highest point in mosques. The mosque has a Qubba (dome) in the prayer hall so that the Imam can be heard as his voice echoes around the mosque. All mosques have a wall marked with a 'mihrab', which indicates the direction of Mecca. Muslims should face this direction when praying.

Throughout the unit we have answered reading comprehensions about the Qu'ran and Ramadan, labelled parts of a mosque, designed our own Islamic art and created an information booklet.

Some of the facts that were shared in our independent information booklet task were:

Fayo
"Did you know that during the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours?"

Megan
"In Islamic art, calligraphy, geometric and vegetal patterns are used."

Esther
"The Imam is a very important person in a mosque as they lead the prayer."