,
Saudi Arabia.]]
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word entered the English language most likely through French (mosquée), from Spanish (mezquita), from Berber (tamezgida), ultimately originating in — . served due to its architectural characteristics as model to many later mosques especially in North Africa and Andalusia. Mosques in Sicily and Spain do not primarily reflect the architecture of Visigothic predecessors, but instead reflect the architecture introduced by the Muslim Moors. On that night, between sunset and sunrise, mosques employ speakers to educate congregants in attendance about Islam. Mosques or the community usually provide meals periodically throughout the night.
During the last ten days of Ramadan, larger mosques within the Muslim community will host i'tikaf, a practice in which at least one Muslim man from the community must participate. Muslims performing i'tikaf are required to stay within the mosque for ten consecutive days, often in worship or learning about Islam. As a result, the rest of the Muslim community is responsible for providing the participants with food, drinks, and whatever else they need during their stay.
Charity
The third of the
Five Pillars of Islam states that Muslims are required to give approximately one-fortieth of their wealth to charity as
zakat. Since mosques form the center of Muslim communities, they are where Muslims go to both give zakat and, if necessary, collect it. Prior to the holiday of
Eid ul-Fitr, mosques also collect a special zakat that is supposed to assist in helping poor Muslims attend the prayers and celebrations associated with the holiday.
Contemporary political roles
,
Brazil.]]
The late twentieth century saw an increase in the number of mosques used for political purposes. Today, civic participation is commonly promoted in mosques in the Western world. Because of the importance in the community, mosques are used for preaching peaceful co-existence with non-believers, even in times of adversity.
Advocacy
Countries with a minority Muslim population are more likely than Muslim-majority countries of the
Greater Middle East to use mosques as a way to promote civic participation.
Nevertheless, a link between political views and mosque attendance can still be seen in other parts of the world. The King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy in Rome represent two of Saudi Arabia's largest investments in foreign mosques as former Saudi king Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud contributed US$8 million and US$50 million One of the most notable hypostyle mosques is the Mezquita de Córdoba in Spain, the building being supported by over 850 columns. Frequently, hypostyle mosques have outer arcades so that visitors can enjoy the shade. Arab-plan mosques were constructed mostly under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties; subsequently, however, the simplicity of the Arab plan limited the opportunities for further development, the mosques consequently losing popularity.
, a hypostyle former mosque with columns arranged in grid pattern, in Córdoba, Spain.]]
The Ottomans introduced central dome mosques in the fifteenth century. These mosques have a large dome centered over the prayer hall. In addition to having a large central dome, a common feature is smaller domes that exist off-center over the prayer hall or throughout the rest of the mosque, where prayer is not performed.
Iwan mosques are most notable for their domed chambers and iwans, vaulted spaces opening out at one end. In iwan mosques, one or more iwans face a central courtyard that serves as the prayer hall. The style represents a borrowing from pre-Islamic Iranian architecture and has been used almost exclusively for mosques in Iran.
Hajja Soad's mosque took a pyramid shape which is a creative style in Islamic architecture.
The Faisal Mosque (Islamabad, Pakistan) in a relatively unusual design fuses contemporary lines with the more traditional look of an Arab Bedouin's tent, with its large triangular prayer hall and four minarets. However, unlike traditional masjid design, it lacks a dome. The mosque's architecture is a departure from the long history of South Asian Islamic architecture. It is one of the most outstanding and modern Islamic architecture examples in the world.
Minarets
is considered as the oldest standing minaret in the world, city of
Kairouan,
Tunisia]]
A common feature in mosques is the minaret, the tall, slender tower that usually is situated at one of the corners of the mosque structure. The top of the minaret is always the highest point in mosques that have one, and often the highest point in the immediate area. The tallest minaret in the world is located at the
Hassan II Mosque in
Casablanca,
Morocco. The
iqama, which is similar to the
adhan and said immediately before the start of prayer, is usually not said from the minaret even if a mosque has one.
Domes
in
Flushing, Queens,
New York City.]]
The domes, often placed directly above the main prayer hall, may signify the vaults of
heaven and the sky.
Usually opposite the entrance to the prayer hall is the qiblah wall, the visually emphasized area inside the prayer hall. The qiblah wall should, in a properly oriented mosque, be set perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca, the location of the Kaaba.
Contemporary features
Modern mosques have a variety of amenities available to their congregants. As mosques are supposed to appeal to the community, they may also have additional facilities, from
health clinics to
libraries to
gymnasiums, to serve the community.
"Makeshift" mosques
cemetery, New South Wales]]
Most especially in Metro Manila, Philippines area, is common for some Muslim-denominated bazaars (
tiangge) to also have a makeshift mosque. They are made primarily for Muslim tenants, most especially when a mosque is not available on the vicinity. Such mosques can be seen in the Riverbanks Mall in Marikina and on the bazaar in the parking lot between Sta Lucia Mall and Robinsons Metro East in Pasig.
Rules and etiquette
(Dhaka), the National Mosque of
Bangladesh.
The structure resembles the Kaaba in Mecca.]]Mosques, in accordance with Islamic practices, institute a number of rules intended to keep Muslims focused on worshipping Allah. While there are several rules, such as those regarding not allowing shoes in the prayer hall, that are universal, there are many other rules that are dealt with and enforced in a variety of ways from mosque to mosque.
Prayer leader
Appointment of a prayer leader is considered desirable, but not always obligatory. In mosques constructed and maintained by the government, the prayer leader is appointed by the ruler; in private mosques, however, appointment is made by members of the congregation through
majority voting. According to the
Hanafi school of
Islamic jurisprudence, the man who built the mosque has a stronger claim to the title of imam, but this view is not shared by the other schools.
Leadership at prayer falls into three categories, depending on the type of prayer: five daily prayers, Friday prayer, or optional prayers. According to the Hanafi and Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence, appointment of a prayer leader for Friday service is mandatory because otherwise the prayer is invalid. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, however, argue that the appointment is not necessary and the prayer is valid as long as it is performed in a congregation. A slave may lead a Friday prayer, but Muslim authorities disagree over whether the job can be done by a minor. An imam appointed to lead Friday prayers may also lead at the five daily prayers; Muslim scholars agree to the leader appointed for five daily services may lead the Friday service as well.
All Muslim authorities hold the consensus opinion that only men may lead prayer for men. Nevertheless women prayer leaders are allowed to lead prayer in front of all-female congregations.
Cleanliness
All mosques have rules regarding cleanliness, as it is an essential part of the worshipper's experience. Muslims before prayer are required to cleanse themselves in an ablution process known as
wudu. However, even to those who enter the prayer hall of a mosque without the intention of praying, there are still rules that apply. Shoes must not be worn inside the carpeted prayer hall. Some mosques will also extend that rule to include other parts of the facility even if those other locations are not devoted to prayer. Congregants and visitors to mosques are supposed to be clean themselves. It is also undesirable to come to the mosque after eating something that smells, such as garlic.
Concentration
As mosques are
places of worship, those within the mosque are required to remain respectful to those in
prayer. Loud talking within the mosque, as well as discussion of topics deemed disrespectful, is forbidden in areas where people are praying. In addition, it is disrespectful to walk in front of or otherwise disturb Muslims in prayer.
,
Jammu and Kashmir,
India.]]
Many mosques today will put the women behind a barrier or partition or in another room against most Islamic beliefs. Mosques in
South and
Southeast Asia put men and women in separate rooms, as the divisions were built into them centuries ago. In nearly two-thirds of
American mosques, women pray behind partitions or in separate areas, not in the main prayer hall; some mosques do not admit women at all due to the lack of space and the fact that some prayers, such as the Friday Jummah, are mandatory for men but optional for women. Although there are sections exclusively for women and children, the
Grand Mosque in
Mecca is desegregated.
The Qur'an addresses the subject of non-Muslims, and particularly polytheists, in mosques in two verses in its ninth chapter, Sura At-Tawba. The seventeenth verse of the chapter prohibits those who join gods with Allah — polytheists — from entering mosques:
: It is not for such as join gods with Allah, to visit or maintain the mosques of Allah while they witness against their own souls to infidelity. The works of such bear no fruit: In Fire shall they dwell. (Yusuf Ali )
The twenty-eighth verse of the same chapter is more specific as it only considers polytheists in the Sacred Mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca:
: O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. (Yusuf Ali )
Mosque participates in Open House London Today, the decision on whether non-Muslims should be allowed to enter mosques varies. With few exceptions, mosques in the Arabian peninsula as well as Morocco do not allow entry to non-Muslims. For example, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is one of only two mosques in Morocco currently open to non-Muslims. Many mosques throughout the United States welcome non-Muslims as a sign of openness to the rest of the community as well as to encourage conversions to Islam.
In modern Turkey non-Muslim tourists are allowed to enter any mosque, but there are some strict rules. Visiting a mosque is allowed only between prayers; visitors are required to wear long trousers and not to wear shoes, women must cover their heads; visitors are not allowed to interrupt praying Muslims, especially by taking photos of them; no loud talk is allowed; and no references to other religions are allowed (no crosses on necklaces, no cross gestures etc.) Similar rules apply to mosques in Malaysia, where larger mosques that are also tourist attractions (such as the Masjid Negara) provide robes and headscarves for visitors who are deemed inappropriately attired.
At different times and places, non-Muslims living under Muslim rule were required to demonstrate deference to mosques. In most cities of Morocco, Jews were required to remove their shoes when passing by a mosque. Danish traveler Carsten Niebuhr wrote that in 18th century Egypt "Jews and Christians had to dismount before several mosques in veneration of their sanctity."
Dogs
Dogs are usually banned from entering mosques, but on September 24, 2008, the Muslim Law Council UK granted a blind Muslim permission to take his guide dog into the mosque via a Fatwa.
Other related information
Islamic architecture
Salah
Imam
Mihrab
Minbar
Eidgah
Places of worship
Holiest sites in Islam
Lists of mosques
List of mosques — famous mosques around the world
List of national mosques
By location
List of mosques in Africa
* List of mosques in Egypt
List of mosques in the Americas
* List of mosques in the United States
List of mosques in Asia
* List of mosques in China
* List of mosques in India
* List of mosques in Iran
* List of mosques in Malaysia
* List of mosques in Pakistan
* List of mosques in Singapore
* List of mosques in Syria
* List of mosques in Turkey
* List of mosques in Kuwait
List of mosques in Europe
* List of mosques in Great Britain
* List of mosques in Turkey
List of mosques in Oceania
By size
References
; Books and journals
; Encyclopedias
Further reading
Notes and references
External links
Great Mosque of Kairouan (Okba Ibn Nafi Mosque in Kairouan)
Grand Jumma Mosque at Shams ArRiyadh
Great Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
UK Mosques – detailed graphical map of each one
The Martyred Mosques On the Seven Mosques of Medina
Online Masjid Map A Map Finder for Masjid / Mosque / Islamic Center world wide.
Category:Mosques
