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

[sunshine240778474]

Yesterday I took the kids to the local library (Inverness, scotland). The local library has a kids area. The kids area has a nice artificial grass mat for the kids to sit and read their books on.

When I entered the library there was a man who had folded the kids mat over so he could kneel on the floor and pray to Allah.

Therefore this prevented the kids from sitting on the mat and reading their books.
The man was praying for a while.

I don't have a problem with someone praying if that's what they want to do.

Is it appropriate to be doing it in the kids area in a local library?

Also, there was a woman curled up in the corner of the library sleeping. This was also in the kids area.

I've seen people sleeping in the library on a few occasions now. I've never seen it in the kids' area.

Ofcourse, I feel sorry for her if she's tired, but again is it appropriate to be using the local library, especially the kids area, as a shelter?

I left the library, and told the staff politely, I didn't find it kid friendly.

Was I being unreasonable?

That’s so nasty, jobsworthy and discriminatory.

A grown man using a child's play area to pray to Allah is not child friendly.
He's not there with a child for a start so should not be using that space.
I would view it as intimidating.
Ditto if he turned up at the playground.

A lone man in the children's area is never acceptable for obvious reasons.
It's about safeguarding.
It's not about "culture" - any lone man hanging around a children's area is inappropriate.
He would have been moved on quickly if he were wearing a collar.

Wars based on religious intolerance? Making exceptions to laws for religious beliefs? Having to have guards posted outside certain schools? Indoctrinating children?

Ridiculous.

What’s wrong with being “woke”?

Doesn’t it mean you’re enlightened and considerate of others? Is that bad?

The place for praying is either in a church or at home. It's outrageous that we are having to accommodate this sort of thing instead of pushing back. Happened to me in a gym a few years back. I made a point of stepping over the idiot on the prayer mat, to be fair I didn't have much choice because he was completely in the way in a smallish space.

Also, still deeply uncomfortable with the football being stopped the other week as well. Religion, fine, if that's your thing but it does not trump all other activities. Grrr.

It stopped for a matter of minutes, which has happened since 2021, let’s not be dramatic about it.

Well clearly this didn’t happen.

I do wish mumsnet would remove these posts.

No it also has an alternative meaning which has fairly much displaced the original one. This article explains the history and its current alternative meanings https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/woke-meaning-definition-4467326

How do you know?

So where does it end, having to stop a zoom call at work so someone can pray for 5 minutes? A bus driver pulling over and getting out on the pavement? A teacher stoping class? Maybe a doctor stoping my consultation? Someone driving pulling over onto the hard shoulder?

Please look at the fasting times for Ramadan and ask those questions again.

It is very unlikely anyone is teaching or consulting at 5:20am or 5:20pm, for example.

If only.
It usually infects sheep ready to believe any charlatan or follow any fad.

No one’s stopping to pray in the middle of a football match.

No it is not unreasonable- you should have told the man to move- he can pray anywhere as long as he is aligned correctly, so it is not reasonable that he was in the kid's area disrupting them, it's bad manners pure and simple.

YANBU! A library is for looking at the books, anything else is inappropriate.

What nonsense? Homelessness?

In which case, yes we are far too tolerant of it. It’s become acceptable. At record levels yet barely makes the news. Which is disgusting and inhumane.

If you’re talking about praying (i.e. focussing the mind and seeking inner peace), IMHO we should all be more tolerant and encouraging of creating spaces to do that, including for atheists. Would help a lot of people with their mental health.

Take a picnic in with you next time, OP, with a big picnic blanket that you can spread out on the floor.

I don’t think the OP has said whether he was alone or not. That’s why i was asking if he had children with him, because that does change the picture a little. But yes if he was a lone man and had taken over the entire children’s section for some long period of time, that is clearly very unreasonable. We don’t know all the details though. Hence my questions. In fact, for all we know he might have even asked the staff for permission (although it seems unlikely that they would have agreed to him folding up the mat.). Too many unknowns, although i did say at the start that I did’t think it was ideal.

The PP who said she asked to pray in an empty room in a library sounds much more reasonable.

So who is woke and who is ‘bad’ in OP’s description? Would the man’s behaviour fit your definition of woke by being enlightened and considerate of others?

The USA has always loved a bit of performative prayer in public office. They also have a Presidential Easter Bunny. Where religion and showmanship collide.

Yes I think it’s very far fetched that an entitled man thought his supernatural beliefs trumped everyone else’s access. It’s just too hard to believe. It’s much more likely to be a global conspiracy.

Kathy Burke said it best.