Cathedral and Mosque Visit

25th February 2025

To consolidate our sessions on Islam and to compare places of worship, Ash Class visited Exeter Cathedral and the Exeter Mosque. 

After catching the train to Exeter (including a change at St Davids to Exter Central Station) Ash Class walked to Exter Cathedral. We observed the architecture from the outside and made comparisons to our own village church - St John's. We then explored inside where we were lucky enough to coincide our visit with the moon exhibit. We walked around the interior (looking for what is believed to be the world's oldest cat flap) looking at the features - as well as talking about the moon. 

After leaving the cathedral we also took advantage of being around some amazing Tudor architecture (a history topic we will be doing later in the year) and we walked down Parliament Street and Gandy Street - both seen as being an inspiration for JK Rowling when she was at Exeter University. 

Then it was time to visit the mosque. We were welcomed in my Imam Ahmed who led us into the community room of the mosque after we had removed our shoes. The children then were able to talk about what they had learnt in our previous topic - including the five pillars. We then learnt about the community work that the mosque is involved in as well as finding out about how Imam Ahmed learnt the whole Quran when he was 11-years-old! 

We then listened to a section of the Quran which references Mary and Jesus. Imam Ahmed then discussed the links between Islam and Christianity and spoke about the importance of both Mary and Jesus in Islam. 

Then we were extremely privileged to be invited into the main prayer hall where we observed the 13:10 silent prayer session. Once this was over, we had refreshments laid on by the mosque before returning to the now empty prayer hall to discuss what we had seen and ask any questions. We also toured the rest of the mosque - including the women's prayer area and the washing rooms. 

We thanked Imam Ahmed for his time and we then caught the train home.