I was born and raised in a Muslim household and I remember my first time visiting our local community mosque with my mother. My favorite part was seeing the beautiful prayer mats that were all over the mosque. Muslims will use a prayer mat if they are not praying in the mosque (the Muslim place of worship). It makes the place where we put the mat a temporary mosque. Usually, you do not have to pray on a prayer mat. As long as the place is clean and free from impurities you can pray there however its very mosque is covered with a big prayer rug that comes in different colors and designs.    The one that was at my local mosque was red and beige with beautiful geometric patterns. It was so soft making my prayer time extremely comfortable. On the days where I did not go to the mosque, I had many prayer mats at home since each and every one of my family members had one. I personally decided to get one that was similar to the one at our local mosque since those colors made me feel warm and safe inside. Ever since then it has become a tradition to go prayer mat shopping every year with my mother and sisters. This was a big part of my religious identity but I loved it even more since it brought my family closer.

– Rawan Ibrahim

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