Prayer Rugs

After checking in at the Delta gate at JFK airport in New York, Amy noticed a large red carpet with six small patterned carpets lying on top of it in a corner of the terminal. Before long, a passenger parked his luggage cart next to the big carpet, removed his shoes and began praying on one of the smaller rugs. When he was finished, a woman took her turn to pray.

What did it mean?

The participants were Muslims following the five-times-a-day prayer rule, carried out on a prayer rug facing east toward Mecca. For several years, Saudi Arabian Airlines has shared the Delta terminal and has provided prayer rugs to cater to their passengers’ religious practices or for use by other Muslims at the airport.

The rugs are set down before flight time on days of the airline’s service. It is not irreverent if non-Muslims watch while Muslims pray. However, to maintain respect, observers should keep their voices low and try not to distract the worshipers by walking across the carpet in front of them while they are praying.