Katete Mosque

Some of the medical students had arranged a visit to Katete mosque with Yahyah a member of Katete stores Muslim community. I haven’t met Yahyah before but am told he has a shop at the stores which sells nice chitenges among other things. I have never been in a Mosque before and whilst rural Zambia may be a strange location for my first visit it ties in nicely with my previous visits to Christian services.

Yahyah doesn’t at all look like he belongs in Zambia. Whilst many of the Indian Muslim population to be seen in Katete or Chipata are dressed in traditional dress and have beards Yahyah is clean shaven and sports a Liverpool football shirt, slightly modified with the sponsors logo for Carlsberg lager concealed. When he speaks he betrays a slight hint of a scouse accent. But he does belong here. Brought up in Chipata 90km from here he is a second generation Zambian. After school he spent eight years in Liverpool where he still has family before returning to settle in Katete. As well as his shop he has interests in the transport industry and Liverpool football team having previously been a season ticket holder.

Its wet and soggy on the evening we visit the mosque, the electricity is out and the daylight is fading. The dusty ground has a new soggy feel underfoot thanks to heavy rain, the first real day of the rainy season. The Mosque is dark and quiet but Yahyah’s welcome is warm and enlightening about the importance of Islam to him and his fellow believers here in Katete. We take of our shoes at the entrance and the girls don improvised scarves to cover their heads.

Not having been in a Mosque before I have few reference points to compare Katete Mosque with. Its about the size of a small parish church at home, at the entrance there is a washing area, beyond that a small hallway before the main part of the building. To each side there are separate rooms one of which is for women to worship in. Time seems to be a big deal to the Muslims who practice here at least. At the head of the main chamber there is a big clock as well as a big digital time display.

There also seems to be some sort of digital count down clock next to that, I’m not sure as I don’t get a close look at it. Perhaps the poor light is playing tricks on me or my imagination or my prejudices. I forget to clarify this later with Yahyah. Towards the entrance there are various timetables for the times at which the five times daily prayers should be said varying with the sunrise and sunset for each day of the year. Strict adherence to timetables isn’t a major feature of African life and I wonder how well Zambians manage to keep to this.

Yahyah speaks proudly but not boastfully about his faith and the Mosque. The Mosque was originally built in the 1960’s, pointing North towards Mecca. There remains just eight Indian families in Katete but yet the Mosque is thriving with several smaller satellite Mosques in the surrounding areas. One of these is in a remote village where Yahyah explains many of the village have decided en masse to convert to Islam. People generally say their prayers at home but come to the Mosque on the Muslim holyday Friday (Juma).

On Friday’s they will pray together and the priest will give a sermon. Services are generally in the local language of Nyanja rather than Arabic or Urdu. Yahyah is quick to point out that sermons here are purely on religious issues and that members of the community here have no interest or tolerance in extremist beliefs which he feels are against the teachings of the Koran. I ask Yahyah about the role of Islam in the fight against HIV/AIDS, he acknowledges that infection rates are lower in predominantly Muslim communities largely relate to sexual abstinence before and fidelity in marriage.

Its time for evening prayers and the call to prayer rings out over the loudspeaker. As we walk towards the car Yahyah explains that many of those who call prayers have traditionally been Ethiopian emphasising the importance in Africa’s role in the spread of Islam. We meet some others coming for prayers, an Indian man in traditional dress pauses to greet Yahyah and then shakes hands with the men amongst us before proceeding inside.

The visit is eye-opening, the Mosque is so different but in many ways so similar to Christian places of worship here. I am impressed by Yahyah’s friendly welcoming nature and also the strong emphasis of community among the Muslim population here.