mosque

Jerusalem is a wonder. While the Islamic Call to Prayer sounds at midday, Jews are praying at the Western Wall. Above the wall is the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque where Muslims gather to worship, and beyond that is the stunning Mount of Olives, with a cemetery that has been important to Jewish tradition for 3000 years. Christians on that same mountain kneel at pews or stand worshiping in churches built by Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, and Franciscan denominations, among others.

David C. Dollahite, PhD, stood in the back of a mosque looking for the imam, the prayer leader of the mosque. The imam would soon be added to the list of over 250 religious men and women Dollahite has interviewed in their places of worship for his research on how religious practices and beliefs affect people’s lives, marriages, and children.