Roles of a Mosque in a Muslim Community
By Shahid Athar, M.D.
Building a mosque is a prophetic and Islamic tradition of Muslim
Communities.
One of the first things that the Prophet Mohammed "Peace be upon him" did
when
he entered Medina, is to build a mosque, the mosque of Quba. Subsequently
wherever the Muslim's have gone, they have built a Mosque for their needs in
that community.
When I came to this country in 1969, there were not more than 50 Mosques
but,
yes Islam is growing and now there are 2,000 Mosques. But, is it the number
of
Muslims or the number of Mosques which reflects the true parameters in the
strength of Islam? Unless we build a community around the mosque to support
and
maintain the Mosque and strengthen the community, the mosque itself will not
protect the community.
Thus we see that at the peak of communist rule in Russia, there were only
400
mosques left in the whole of the USSR while during the revolution in 1914,
there
were 24, 000. Most of these mosques under communist operations were closed
on
week days and open only for Friday Prayer or Sundays. 700 mosques in Bosnia
were
destroyed by Serbs and there are many mosques in India that have been left
behind, abandoned, or converted to Hindu Temples.
Let us ask ourselves, why do we need a mosque to begin with? After all, a
Muslim
can pray at home and his home is his mosque where he can live a comfortable
Islamic life with himself and his family. However, we must remember that
Islam
is a religion to be practiced collectively therefore, all good things if
they
are done together has more of a reward than the same things done alone.
Never in
the Quran does Allah address Muslims as believer but, always as believers.
Thus we are supposed to pray collectively in a congregation and participate
in
other acts of worship like fasting and hajj together. Therefore, we do need
a
mosque for collective prayer. Many of the well established mosques in the
country started with either a rented house,apartment, or basement of a house
or
even a garage. By growth of the community and their motivation, there are
full
fledged mosques.
But is the mosque only for prayers? No. The mosque is the center for all
Islamic
activity as it used to be in the mosques of the Prophet in Medina. In these
mosques, not only prayers took place, but it was a school of knowledge where
companions used to study the Quran and ask questions. It was a place for the
Government to receive delegations from foreign countries. It was a treasury
from
which charity work was done and it was a war-room where decisions and
planning
for wars imposed on Muslims were made.
In fact, the mosque extended to the care of the needy and orphans, and the
sick
as well as a place for giving D'awa to non Muslims.
Thus we need our mosques not only to be a place of prayer but, a place for
seeking Islamic Knowledge for Muslims and non Muslims, and there should be
formal classes for newly converted Muslims to ease them into Islam.
It should be a place where our children can receive an Islamic education
combating the secular education of their public schools. It should be a
place
where community social functions can take place with Islamic guidelines
whether
it is an Iftar party, eid party, marriage, or aqeeqa ceremony that takes
place.
It should be a place where Muslim men can socialize with other Muslim men
and
women with women, young boys with young boys, and girls with girls. Not
necessarily in the prayer area but, in other areas of the mosque.
Muslims should have in their mosque a reference library where they can go
and
study Islam. From the mosque, there should be collection and distribution of
all
Sadaqa and Zakat. In addition to Sunday School and full time Islamic school,
there should be day time and evening coaching classes for students in high
school and knowledgeable teachers and professionals in the community should
coach our students so that they can do a better job with their grades and
provide some career counseling. Within each community, there are many Muslim
physicians,male and female thus, I propose that in each mosque there should
incorporate a free medical clinic which can meet after Friday Prayer or
after
Sunday school. Where Muslims without insurance or those who are in need of
emergency help can receive treatment.
If our resources increase, we can open these clinics even to non-Muslims and
that would be the best form of D'awa. Another role of the free health
clinic, is
to provide education to Muslim men and women about health care, preventive
aspects, and emergency care like first aid. Screening for diabetes, high
blood
pressure, and cholesterol can also be done in this clinic on a regular
basis. I
propose that in each mosque there should be one room for exercise which can
be
alternated on days for use between men and women. For Muslim men when they
want
to exercise, it is easy because they can put on shorts and start jogging in
the
streets. We do not want our women to do the same. Therefore, we must care
for
their health by providing them an exercise facility in privacy. To furnish
an
exercise room is not that expensive; less than $5,000.
Should we allow non-Muslims to come to our mosque or not. The Prophet
Mohammed
(PBUH) did allow non Christian delegations not only to come and talk to him
about Islam but, he allowed them to stay and pray in their own way too. This
is
Islamic compassion. Doctor Muzzamil Siddiqui, President of ISNA, also wrote
a
paper in this response agreed to allow the non-Muslims to come to the
Mosque. We
want to make sure of several things as safeguards.The first is that people
do
not come in the prayer area. The second is that the women should dress in
modesty.
Therefore, if one knows of a certain non-Muslim delegation whether it is a
church, interfaith or school coming in, one may want to send them some
material
regarding the Islamic concept of modesty. Many times, people are ignorant
about
Islamic customs and that is no reason to shun them away but, we must educate
them.
D'awa to non-Muslims is a necessity and a tool of survival. Imam Fakhri Al
Razi
said 500 years ago "that we should cease to divide the world into Darul Kufr
and
Darul Harb but,divide is according to Darul Islam and Darul D'awa". If any
part
of the earth is not Darul Islam,they are all in need of D'awa.
Support maintenance of the mosque is every ones responsibility and not just
that
of the organizers. When there is a broken pipe or a roof which leaks in out
own
house, we call the plumber and get it fixed or do it ourselves. We do not do
fund raising for maintenance of our house or for the education of our
children.
Therefore if we consider a mosque, The House of Allah as our responsibility,
then we should take care of it as good or better than we take care of our
own
house and our family. I propose that every member of the community
irrespective
of his financial status does something for their mosque. Those who can give,
they should give money.Those who can work, if they cannot give money, should
work in teaching children or doing the maintenance work whether it is
painting,
cleaning or yard work. There are many programs available through grocery
stores
and telephone companies that will benefit the mosque.
We have implemented such programs with a long distance company as well as
two
grocery stores and the income for a small community can be as much as $2,000
per
month.
PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIVE SOLUTIONS
There are many problems which are going on in several communities inside the
mosque which has not only divided the community but, sometimes exposed our
disunity to non-Muslims when the matters go to court. Some mosques have
become
inclusive clubs or organizations putting the glory of the organizer inside
and
closing the door for everyone else. An Islamic organization should be able
to
bring more people in rather than chase them out. This is related to our
egocentrism. We are living in a "me first" society where the motto is I will
get
Me a hamburger. For most Muslims, this is the issue. "I will not cooperated
with
you since I don't like you but, when I do the same thing, I want you to
support
me". An extension of this problem is "whatever you are doing is un-Islamic
because it is such-and-such Hadith against it however, I see nothing wrong
with
what I am doing since I see nothing in the Quran or Hadith against it".
Another problem is the fact that "there is another group which makes things
happen, a. second which watches things happen, and a third which does not
know
what has happened". We Muslims usually belong to the third category of
apathetic
people but, we have added a forth which will criticize everything that
happens.
When the rice pilaf is being cooked, we want to stay away from the heat.
When it
is being served, we want to complain of a shortage,of salt, sugar, raisins
and
almonds. We always like to watch what others are doing without worrying
about
ourselves. The nature of this problem is told from the following story told
to
me by an elderly Muslim scholar. After he led the congregation in prayer,
someone from the congregation came and told him that his prayer was invalid.
When asked why, he said "your nose was not touching the ground in Sujood".
The
Imam replied, " I am an old man and I had a heart operation. It is possible
that
my nose was not touching the ground during Sujood but, may I know what was
your
nose doing at that time"? There is another story which goes like this. The
host
was insisting to the guest that he should eat more of the sweets that he was
serving. The guest said " no I am full. I have taken 4 pieces already".The
host
said" No you are wrong, I have been counting and you have taken 6 pieces".
In every mosque, there is sometimes friction between the Administrator and
the
congregation; between the Imam, the Shura, and the Board of Trustees,
between
brothers and sisters, between conservatives and liberals, and of course
between
different ethnic groups. Not only do these differences hurt the feelings of
one
another but, sometimes has even led to fighting or court battle. How do we
solve
such problems? We must remember that all of us are subservient to Allah and
His
messenger. That Imam has to be followed only when he is following Allah and
his
messenger. The Imam expects by his example to generate love for Him in the
heart
of the congregation members.
Islam is a colorless religion. It does not endorse one color of skin over
another; one language over another; one type of food over another. Islam is
like
a flower garden with roses and other flowers of different colors and smell.
Diversity among Muslims in their origin of tribes languages are signs from
Allah. We should forget our differences and remain united in love and
service to
each other only for the sake of pleasure of Allah. Ask yourself in your
Mosque;
are you part of the solution or part of the problem? In one church, I saw
this
sign which said "a church is not a playground for the mischief makers, but a
rehab hospital for the spiritually ill. Come on in, the doctor is in". The
same
thing can be said about a mosque also.
It is important for the congregation to participate in the activities of the
mosque and for the organizers to invite everyone including women to actively
participate. Womens roles should not be just left for cooking for the
functions
in the Mosque but, even to participate in the decision making process
effecting
the mosque as they would do in their own house. Children should not consider
Sunday School a place where they are dragged from home to memorize some
Surah
but, a place so appealing and lively and full of interesting activities that
they insist on going there every Sunday. And their parents should not look
at
Sunday School as a baby sitting place or a day care center where they can
drop
the kids off and watch the football games or go shopping. They must be
actively
involved in adult education or whatever activities are going on that day.
What is good for our children is also good for us. I firmly believe that
when a
Muslim is attached to a mosque, half of the problems are solved. Then he can
take the message of Islam that he learns in the mosque to his home and
environment, then most of the problems can be solved. We should not accept
donation without participation, nor should we accept criticism without
volunteering to resolve it.
Shahid Athar, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Indiana University School of Medicine
8424 Naab Road
Suite 2D
Indianapolis, IN 46260
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
