Muslims gather in a building oriented toward Mecca to perform the five daily prayers and the Friday congregational service. That building is a mosque. The Arabic word means place of prostration.

Essential features include a prayer hall, a mihrab indicating the direction of prayer, and often a minaret from which the call to prayer is given. Decoration tends toward calligraphy, geometry, and light rather than figural images. Larger mosques may include space for education, community meetings, and charitable activity.

The mosque serves as both sacred space and civic center for Muslim communities. Shoes are removed, and men and women usually occupy separate areas. Architecturally, mosques range from simple village structures to monumental complexes that dominate city skylines. The quiet of a mosque between prayer times can be as eloquent as the shared prostration itself.

• Place of Islamic congregational prayer
• Oriented toward Mecca
• Features mihrab and often a minaret
• Functions as worship and community space