Jumeirah Mosque

If you've ever wondered what a mosque looks like from the inside, take some time out of your holiday plans and visit the beautiful Jumeirah Mosque, which is the only mosque in Dubai open to non-muslim visitors.  The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding organise and promote these tours and its main goal is to bring awareness to the wider public on the relgious practices of Islam, the culture of the UAE people and knowledge of arabian architecture in an informal, lively and fun way. Any questions will be answered and you will go away feeling relaxed and informed.   

Visitors who have been to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi or any one of the older mosques in the middle east may be a tad disappointed with the Jumeirah Mosque as its not on a similar size or grandeur scale, however it is definitely a must see landmark for anyone not been to a mosque or who is fed up with the daily visits to the malls or beach.

• Dress conservatively.  Ladies should wear either light trousers or a skirt with atleast knee length or longer.  Tops should be atleast short sleeved.  No vest tops.  Bring a shawl incase.  There is traditional dress to borrow which is the abaya (long black overdress) and the shela which is used to cover the hair.  Men should wear trousers/ jeans no shorts.  
• If you want to take a Jumeirah mosque tour then be sure to be present outside the mosque on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday at 10 am. This is the meeting point for the tour organized by the famous non-profit seeking organization of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.
• Your guide may explain the ritual of 'wudu' which is the ritual cleansing before entering the Jumeirah mosque.  You may wish to partake in this.  If so, follow the instructions of your guide.  According to the ‘wudu’ one should start off by washing the right and left hand three times, then wash the mouth three times, then the face three times too and then wash the right and left hand arms three times. This is followed by the washing of the head, ears and the right and left foot all of which are washed three times.