AIBU to question praying and sleeping in the library kids area?

Utterly bizarre isn’t it . Why didn’t he go to a quiet corner somewhere.

Here the homeless are all offered somewhere to sleep by the Salvation Army there is literally a handful of people. So the library for sleep wouldn’t seem an obvious choice here. Perhaps in the day for generals sitting about but usually they are by the shops but you may see 1-2 people max if any at all. But either way, it’s quite noisy actually sometimes- well in the kids section. And one end used to have a cafe. There are often book and craft groups and baby music groups on. Not really somewhere conducive for sleep! And if it was - it would be in the adult section.

Over the last few months, I've noticed an increasing number of posts, both here and on other forums, that are griping about some aspect of Islam that has pissed the author off.

A cynical person might think there's some sort of orchestrated attempt to whip up indignation about Islamic religious practices.

I think praying in a library is fine. However, rearranging the place is not ideal. It depends really …. Was he stopping people using the whole children’s area or just a very small part of it where the mat was? Did he have children with him? Was be less than 5 minutes? If it was a small area of the children’s section and there were plenty of other places for the children to sit, if he had children with him and it was less than 5 minutes, then that is more understandable. If he was alone, made the whole children’s area unusable and was more than 5 minutes, that is very inconsiderate.

Sorry but that part doesn’t make sense. Let’s say it was facing south. South can’t only be in one area- surely you’ve used a compass or map before. It’s a direction! He could have gone anywhere. Picking the kids section is weird

You're asking someone else this question, however as the OP is in Inverness, and I'm also from Scotland, I shall intervene.

In case you weren't aware, Scottish people make up the majority in Scotland (thus naturally our culture will, as it should, take precedence). We have quite a distinct culture, both literature and education are valued in our culture, as are the rights of children. This grown man's wholly selfish behaviour in a space designated for children is entirely alien to me too; he simply shouldn't have been there.

Is that a good enough explanation of my/our culture for you?

Well yes but girls reading isn’t tolerated in some countries, so not sure what other countries allow is a helpful line of argument.

I think the library staff should have moved them to a different area. It’s a hard balance for them to get right. Our local library is one of the few free spaces available during the day for homeless to keep warm and the do use it a lot. I wouldn’t report someone sitting quietly in the adult section, they have as much right as anyone else. But I do think the children’s area is not the appropriate place for a nap. Likewise the man praying. His religion is irrelevant really. It wouldn’t matter if it was a budist yoga session or a catholic loudly doing the rosary. It’s that it made the space unusable for its purpose that is the issue. Library staff could have found a better spot for him without stopping him entirely. So I would be a bit more assertive with staff next time and ask them politely to please go and speak to them as your child would like to read some books.

Council libraries are, and have been for years now, multi use buildings where adults are encouraged to go, as safe spaces, warm spaces, to be open to all. They are very much the unofficial alternative to day shelters, places for lonely people to go, places for the homeless or mentally ill to go.

Spot on, @Birdsongisangry . A dear friend was the director of libraries for my county several years, and I have several friends who are ex-librarians. They put in a lot of effort to make libraries more accessible, welcoming and multi-functional. None of them would have batted an eye at someone praying in a library.

Assuming It happened, would it make a difference if it were a woman who was praying? I'm sort of confused how it was loud because that's not how the prayers typically are prayed.

The staff were not doing their job, the library should be welcoming for everyone, but neither of those activities was appropriate. However I can understand that dealing with it would be difficult. The general public don't realise that working in a library sometimes entails being a cross between a teacher, a bouncer and a mental heath worker. Knowing where the more appropriate places in the town for people to go would have been useful.

Muslim parents in the children's section with their children is fine..nobody said it wasn't.

There is, it’s not very far away, less than a ten minute walk.

Do you mean the original post itself of some of the responses

Love these flexible definitions of prayer. The same people who are all for silent prayer in a library kids section are vehemently against silent prayer in the vicinity of an abortion clinic.

I’m convinced that Mumsnet is infested with “pay per post” users from groups such as 411 that seek to influence social change. This thread is a classic example of

But some are more welcome than others

Yanbu. There are plenty of other places for someone to go and pray like a mosque or a park. The children’s section of a library is not one. Also nobody should be curled up sleeping there either. If one person is allowed to do it then so should everyone and the place will cease to be a library and become something totally different.

I think it’s outrageous that an adult male should take over a designated children’s area for anything (other than obviously child related topics).

I was asking the person who referred to ‘our culture’ as this clearly was not what they meant, but I think you know that!

It's the place they choose to do it that is inappropriate

I honestly wouldn’t care.

It was in the children’s area. It wasn’t a sleeping/praying area.

If I go to a library, I’d sooner not be having to step over/around people either praying or sleeping. 🤷‍♀️

If a person is praying in a library, then that very act makes it then not a neutral space. That is not hard to understand.

I believe there's a mosque in Inverness. Why couldn't he go there? A library is not a religious centre and adults shouldn't be in a children's area. I'd have more sympathy with the sleeper, but again, they shouldn't be there, a library is not a hostel.

It sounds a terrible library! Drug users, someone praying, BO, people using it as a doss house…I’m surprised you’d visit it all OP!

Do you want to pay for a specific prayer room? Or lose that space from your local library?