When I was about seven years-old, my father joined St. Matthews Lutheran church I Walled Lake, where I attended Sunday mass one every other week. That only lasted about a year or so, and once again church just wasn't a part of my life. It wasn't until I was fifteen that I attended church under my own free will. The only reason I did go was because my friend asked me to go with him and his family and because there were a couple of good looking girls there. It was a Baptist church and my mom used to tell me to be careful because they would try and brainwash me like my uncle. I learned about Jesus and being saved, I was even pressured into being saved my self. It always seemed and though all of the sermons were directed toward my though. Like everything I did, the preacher knew I did it and wrote a whole sermon based

That night I had a dream. I walked into this dark, cold, castle-like building. The only light came from a series of candles that stood atop metal poles like torches. There was only one room. As I walked into the room I immediately noticed that it was filled with skinny little Arabs with beards down to their chests. Everybody turned their heads and stared straight at me and the imam even quit talking and was staring at me also. After a few seconds that seem like they lasted for hours the imam started talking again and everyone turned their heads towards him. The imam looked hauntingly familiar. I couldn't quite figure it out until I got nervous and tried to leave. As I got up to walk out there were two men standing in front of the door both were holding these big guns. I looked back into the room and I figured out that the imam was Osama bin Laden. I stood there for a second and turn to the door and ran as fast as I could through the door and made it safely to my car. When I awoke in the mourning I was relieved to find out that it all was just a dream.

When I walked into the mosque the first thing I notice is how much the mosque looked nothing like any church I have been in. There were no religious paintings or stained glass windows. There were no crosses and no pictures of Jesus and it actually surprised me. There were little signs written in Arabic and some in English. A few Rug like flags hung on the walls of mosque. They were mostly black with gold, or white embroidered Arabic words. The first room I went into was set up like churches alter. There were about fifty people there. They were mostly typical families there. There were men with their wives and their children. The room was very racially diverse. There were many different people, white, black and mid-eastern decent. To my surprise not all of the women and little girls wore the shawl on their heads, just a select few. Also to my comfort when I walked in and stood in the back no-one stared at me.

No only were my preconceived expectations wrong but I after the service I felt stupid for even thinking them. The service made me realize that Islam is not very different then Christianity. They have many similarities, but they each have many differences. For the most part I was very comfortable. I felt welcome the whole time, and besides feeling a little strange because I had never been there before. The service was at all as I thought it would be. I paid attention to what Mr. Tayeb had to say and I even thought it made more sense than any other sermon I've listened to. I have gained a new found respect for the religion and its followers. I've come to realize that their religion has nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks and much of the prejudice I had before I feel I resolved.

The only differences between this service and a Lutheran service were the appearance of the church, the racial diversity, and the absence of Jesus. The building didn't feel "hol

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1976
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)