The congregation lines up shoulder to shoulder, in straight rows, each line filled out fully before the next one begins to form. “Allah-o-Akbar, Allah is the greatest,” the imam intones, lifts his hands to his ears and folds them on his chest. The congregation follows. As a pin-drop silence descends on the hall, he recites the first verses of the Qur’an:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent and the Merciful

All praises to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds

The Beneficent and the Merciful

Master of the Day of Judgment

Thee we worship and Thee we beseech for help

Guide us to the right path

The path of those upon whom Thou has bestowed grace

Not those upon whom Thine wrath has fallen

Nor those who go astray (1:1-7).

This is the most read chapter of the Qu’ran. Being the prescribed opening of each of the seventeen parts of the five daily prayers, it is recited at least that many times by observant Muslims, who also recite it on countless other occasions because it encapsulates an essential element of their faith — total surrender to Allah.

The imam then reads a few lines from any other part of the holy book. He leads the congregation into half bowing, with hands on the knees, then goes down to prostrate with the forehead and palms touching the ground, and stands up again to repeat the cycle once, twice or thrice depending on the time of the day and, finally, sits with the feet tucked under the buttocks. It sounds difficult and can be for the uninitiated, but for those used to it, it is second nature.

The prayer over, usually in less than fifteen minutes, people greet each other. Many mingle and linger in the camaraderie that is the hallmark of such gatherings. A tea house, coffee house or restaurant is never too far from the mosque’s courtyard. On foreign assignments, I find the mosque precincts to be the best locales for tasty and reasonably priced local cuisine, as well as for interviews to get a good read on public opinion.

Mosque-going Muslims get to know each other and the neighborhood, thereby enhancing social cohesion and developing strong communities, even in large urban centers.

The prayers are performed in the same manner across the world, except for minor variations. A Muslim can thus go to any place on earth, join others in prayer and feel at home, finding an instant bond with strangers. One of the first things a traveling Muslim usually does is to find out where the nearest mosque is.