Vientiane Walk - Jamia Masjid (Jami士 Mosque)
I was at Ibis Hotel's little foyer when I took this picture. There's the police building at left. Behind it is the masjid, which is also just at the back of my hotel (yellow arrow).
If you cannot read the corner street signage (green), it says Vientiane Jamia Masjid, Muslim Association Vientiane Capital. And, it also has an arrow pointing to the left.
My guesstimate, the masjid is probably 50 meters or a bit more, from that corner.
Oh yes there are Muslims in Laos - many are in Vientiane. This masjid is their center of worship. I think that's what "jamia" means - a main congregational mosque (yata).
Ah I was already across the road (red arrow) when I realized it's a sizeable mosque. Piniktyuran ko muna the hotel, tawid pabalik to check that masjid out and..., sarado!
How about the mosque, where's the picture? None! Because.., on the street outside its fence and gate there are streetside eateries - kanang pungko-pungko style gud. If I aimed my phone, those eating could think I was photographing them. Baka magalit!
Well.., maybe that was a blessing in disguise hehehe.
Laos is a 'communist one-party state'. Religion is tolerated (per constitution kuno) but "government monitored" - especially the non-Buddhists like Islam, Christianism, etc.
Activities/Plans must be submitted and approved (annually); their leaders 'must' be approved by government; visiting foreign preachers also need prior gov't approvals, not just to come to Laos, but a 'stipulation' of what they are going to do AND speak.
Ay, ang narinig ko pa ke 'marites', ganyan daw talaga ang mga communist/socialist governments - sa papel lang ang 'freedom of religion' pero ang totoo lahat inuusisa.
Di ko alam ang about sa atin na mga uzi lang. Eh kung open pala yun at pumasok si ako, tapos na-ispatan ako ng police nila, at inakusahan ng whatever whatever. Hiyay!
Buti nalang maaga ako nag-walking at buti nalang sarado pa ang mosque na yun! I say that since a masjid is not a tourist spot kahit pa jamia yan. So kadudaduda ako!
The lesson really is: be conscious about local nitty-gritties when visiting places.
In many places on earth, especially the democratic states that we are used to, you see a church mosque temple or chapel you go in to either have a look, or join in the prayer activities, no issues. Kaso di natin alam (di ko inalam) sa mga ganitong lugar.
Lalo na sa panahon ngayon, mahirap mapagkamalan ay. Di ba yung Rohingya issue sa Myanmar nagkagulo na nanaman last year (ca 2017)? Muslim vs. Buddhists yan.
Anyway, as I said 'mosque was closed'. Di ako mapapagkamalan na Arakan hahah!
Now now, since I discovered there's that masjid in this 'center-of-town', I asked some friends and searched online for more information. As expected I learned a lot more!
Less than .1% of the Lao population are Muslims. A friend tells me that, in absolute numbers, they'd probably be around a thousand people - give or take a few hundred.
Well that was a realization for me. I didn't expect there'd be muslims in this country. I heard they're mostly textile merchants, that's why they like being at center of town.
Roaming is learning! Anyway...
I went back to main road to continue my walk. If you're confused with this photo, ito ang katapat nung nasa taas. I already crossed the alley(road) with the yellow arrow.
This was in front of the big police station; behind it (beyond right edge of picture) is the mosque; and that yellowish building is Ibis Hotel. I stood at that corner for a bit.
Because I was appreciating something...
That should be my next story!
My guesstimate, the masjid is probably 50 meters or a bit more, from that corner.
Oh yes there are Muslims in Laos - many are in Vientiane. This masjid is their center of worship. I think that's what "jamia" means - a main congregational mosque (yata).
Ah I was already across the road (red arrow) when I realized it's a sizeable mosque. Piniktyuran ko muna the hotel, tawid pabalik to check that masjid out and..., sarado!
How about the mosque, where's the picture? None! Because.., on the street outside its fence and gate there are streetside eateries - kanang pungko-pungko style gud. If I aimed my phone, those eating could think I was photographing them. Baka magalit!
Well.., maybe that was a blessing in disguise hehehe.
Laos is a 'communist one-party state'. Religion is tolerated (per constitution kuno) but "government monitored" - especially the non-Buddhists like Islam, Christianism, etc.
Activities/Plans must be submitted and approved (annually); their leaders 'must' be approved by government; visiting foreign preachers also need prior gov't approvals, not just to come to Laos, but a 'stipulation' of what they are going to do AND speak.
Ay, ang narinig ko pa ke 'marites', ganyan daw talaga ang mga communist/socialist governments - sa papel lang ang 'freedom of religion' pero ang totoo lahat inuusisa.
Di ko alam ang about sa atin na mga uzi lang. Eh kung open pala yun at pumasok si ako, tapos na-ispatan ako ng police nila, at inakusahan ng whatever whatever. Hiyay!
Buti nalang maaga ako nag-walking at buti nalang sarado pa ang mosque na yun! I say that since a masjid is not a tourist spot kahit pa jamia yan. So kadudaduda ako!
The lesson really is: be conscious about local nitty-gritties when visiting places.
In many places on earth, especially the democratic states that we are used to, you see a church mosque temple or chapel you go in to either have a look, or join in the prayer activities, no issues. Kaso di natin alam (di ko inalam) sa mga ganitong lugar.
Lalo na sa panahon ngayon, mahirap mapagkamalan ay. Di ba yung Rohingya issue sa Myanmar nagkagulo na nanaman last year (ca 2017)? Muslim vs. Buddhists yan.
Anyway, as I said 'mosque was closed'. Di ako mapapagkamalan na Arakan hahah!
Now now, since I discovered there's that masjid in this 'center-of-town', I asked some friends and searched online for more information. As expected I learned a lot more!
Less than .1% of the Lao population are Muslims. A friend tells me that, in absolute numbers, they'd probably be around a thousand people - give or take a few hundred.
Well that was a realization for me. I didn't expect there'd be muslims in this country. I heard they're mostly textile merchants, that's why they like being at center of town.
Roaming is learning! Anyway...
I went back to main road to continue my walk. If you're confused with this photo, ito ang katapat nung nasa taas. I already crossed the alley(road) with the yellow arrow.
Because I was appreciating something...
That should be my next story!
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