A place of Muslim worship.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

A Place of Muslim Worship

Manasa Prabhakar 11H

The Kowloon Mosque is located at the side of the Kowloon Park, near Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station. It is the biggest mosque in Hong Kong, 1500 square meters in size. The mosque is composed of white marble. It is a place of worship for the Muslim community in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is home to around 50,000 Muslims. More than half are Chinese, the rest either locally born non-Chinese or hailing from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Middle East or Africa. It was built at a cost of HK$25 million and opened in 1984, replacing the old mosque built in 1896 on the same site. The Kowloon mosque can accommodate up to 2000 people at a time. All Muslim’s come to the Kowloon mosque, but the majority are Sunni although all are welcome. In order to research material for our coursework we visited the mosque and interviewed the Imam.

The Kowloon mosque is rectangular in shape. The walls define the sacred area, which should only be entered by people who have removed their shoes. Upon entering shoes need to be left on racks outside the mosque so that no dirt and impurities may be brought inside the mosque and onto the musulta (prayer mats). The musulta, as well as contributing to the Islamic decoration, provides a clean environment for the worshipper to perform salat. At the entrance, or in the courtyard if the mosque is large, there will be a place for washing. Many mosques are completely covered with a roof, often crowned by a dome, which symbolizes the universe and helps to magnify the voice of the Imam.

The muezzin sounds the call to prayer five times a day (a Muslim crier) from a tower called a minaret, which is part of the mosque. Once, when worshippers did not have watches, it was necessary to remind them that it was time for worship. Muslim prayer times are fixed by the sun and change daily. Adzan is like a chant, often very musical and beautiful. Part of the prayer is the ritual washing (wudu) beforehand. The wudu allows Muslim’s to reach a state of purification and cleanliness before salat. Outside the mosque, there was a minaret, a tower where the muezzin calls Muslims to prayer. The clocks on the wall show the times that Muslims must pray. The qibla wall is a wall, which faces Mecca. In this wall, there is a mihrab, which is a small cove pointing towards Mecca. The minbar is a platform where the Imam gives his sermon. This section may be blocked with a screen. Mosques strive to promote the true message of Islam and to assist Muslims with their pursuit of an Islamic lifestyle. The mosque provides Muslim’s with an opportunity in which they can perform their daily salah, one of their Five Pillars of Faith.

The practice of prayer (salah) is five times a day (upon rising, at noon, in midafternoon, after sunset, and before retiring). The worshiper must recite the prescribed prayers (the first Surah and other selections from the Qu’ran) in Arabic while facing the Ka'aba in Mecca. The Hadith (book of tradition) has turned these prayers into a mechanical procedure of standing, kneeling, hands and face on the ground, and so forth.

Because the action of prayer requires a minimum space without any furniture the mosque is basically an empty space to create maximum room for the “ummah” brotherhood ...

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Because the action of prayer requires a minimum space without any furniture the mosque is basically an empty space to create maximum room for the “ummah” brotherhood to meet together and pray. The prayer hall is carpeted and lines are marked on the floor to help the congregation assemble in neat rows. The prayer hall is large and almost devoid of furniture. Muslim women do not pray in the same room as men because they are a distraction to the men who go to the mosque to pray and worship Allah. The separation of men and women is not meant to be derogatory or oppressive towards women. Instead, it is done so that Allah can be properly praised and revered. The Imam sits in the opposite side of the divider and gives the day's lesson. After the Imam has finished the topic he has chosen for the day, he listens to any questions the women have offering advice and support.

The building appeared to be very plain from the outside, having no stained glass windows or pictures although there were elaborate Arabic inscriptions, so artistically produced that few Muslim’s would be able to read them without training. Muslim’s believe that statues might encourage idolatry. Muslim artistic effort has been largely devoted to architecture, especially the beautiful mosques built to the glory of Allah. Calligraphy is also a highly developed art form. The beautiful handwritten characters were used to present the Qu’ran with skill worthy of such a holy book and at the same time to remind Muslim’s of its importance in their faith. Plaques of such calligraphy are often used to show the qibla. It is important to Muslim’s that the decoration of the mosque should help them to concentrate on their prayer and not be a distraction. The symmetrical, arabesque and geometric designs which often decorate inside and outside walls of mosques, together with the calligraphic designs, help to express the Islamic belief in the oneness, eternity and infinity of God and the presence of God throughout the ever-repeating and interwoven patterns of the universe.

Masjid is a word meaning ‘place for prostration’ and was used by the early Muslims for houses of worship, which are smaller mosques and usually very richly adorned. Mosques have also served other purposes apart from being a place of worship to those of the Muslim faith. The mosque has never only been a house of prayer. It gives Islamic education (Madrasah) to young children. Weddings and religious functions as well as funerals may also be held in mosques. There is a mortuary inside the mosque. This is to ensure that a Muslim reaches a complete end under the watchful eyes of Allah when he dies.

The Mosque, referred to as the "house of God," plays a essential role in the lives of all Muslim’s and to which they gather five times daily, if they can, to worship God and to provide a central point for the local community. It is regarded as a consecrated and holy place, providing peace and serenity to the worshippers.

Upon interviewing the Imam at the Kowloon mosque we discovered that he is the leader of the mosque. He told us that the congregation and the community leaders to conduct formal services and to provide religious, social and welfare guidance to the worshippers usually choose Imam’s. There is no formal priesthood in Islam and in the absence of an Imam; any knowledgeable person from amongst the congregation can conduct religious services. Imams are expected to look after the cleanliness of mosque, call Adzans from the balcony of the minarets to the whole religious meetings, teach Madrasah and propagate the Islamic faith. They are expected to be well versed in the Shariat, the Holy Qur'an, the Hadiths, ethics, philosophy, social, economic and religious aspects and must have an MBA in Islamic Studies. Imam or prayer leader is the most important appointee. While any prominent or learned Muslims can have the honor of leading prayer, each mosque specifically appoints a man well versed in theological matters to act as its Imam. He is in charge of the religious activities of the mosque and it is his duty to conduct prayers five times a day in front of Mihrab. Imam’s are always men as they are expected to emulate the role of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was male. Also, an Imam is required to be present 365 days a year, a woman cannot be an Imam as she is not allowed to enter the mosque on an average of 84 days a year due to her menstrual cycle. Wudu is broken by sex or discharge (blood, seminal fluid, faeces or wind). Women in childbirth or menstruating are excused from attending prayer.

In Shi’ah Islam the ideas around the imam are the very foundations upon which the rest of the theology rests. Unlike the Sunni, the Shi'i normally use the term to refer only to Ali and those descendants of his who led the Shi'ah party. Ali was the first of twelve Imam’s who spoke with special authority. For Shi’ah Muslims, Imam’s must be descendants of Muhammad through Ali and his wife Fatimah Al-Zahrah. These Imam’s had a special gift, sometimes referred to as a ‘guiding light’, which other Muslims do not have. They could interpret the Qu’ran and use that knowledge to make laws (Shari’ah) to guide people in their moral decision-making. Shi’ah Muslims believe that Imam’s have no faults because Allah guides them. In the absence of the Imam, a Shi’ah Muslim follows a single scholar who they regard as their representative, called a Marj’ah. Shi’ah Imam’s always have a turban, full beard, and wear a white kurta pajama in order to maintain their Islamic identity.

In Islam the term 'imam' is used principally as a title, and has minimal importance in theology. In terms of dress code, a few choose to don the traditional attire, but many wear Western clothes – suit and tie to mingle with Western leaders.

“You do not need to go to a mosque to be a good Muslim”. A Muslim may disagree with this statement because the Holy Prophet said, 1“When you see a person going regularly to the mosque then bear witness that he is a man of faith”. This refers to his attachment to the mosque and eagerness to be part of the congregation. To be a Muslim is to be obedient to God. 2“Whoever goes to the mosque in the morning and evening God prepares him for special hospitality in paradise”. The mercy of God is everywhere but it is more focused and concentrated in the mosque. Those who do not attend salah at the mosque are depriving themselves of all spiritual benefits and will not reap the rewards of being part of an ummah. Furthermore, attending mosque is a clear sign of a person’s link

1and 2 taken from

with good Muslim’s who attend the Jumu’ah prayer. In some countries such as Hong

Kong there is a very small minority of Muslim’s. Often families of minorities such as these enjoy being in the company of others that they can relate to. The mosque is a meeting point in which a community can socialize and gain support from. Muslim’s need to follow the Sunnah and do as Muhammad (pbuh) did, which was to attend

mosque. While salah can be performed anywhere, it is considered more meritorious when performed in the mosque. The Imam at the Kowloon mosque quoted the Sunnah, which stated that salah in the mosque is 20 to 27 times more valuable than the one performed in the home. Attending mosque is part of the training required to be a good Muslim, representing a person’s fear of God and that those who do not pray in a mosque will be accountable to Allah on Judgment Day.

On the other hand, Salah can be performed anywhere clean, as long as they have performed the sacred washing rituals beforehand and everything is as it would be during corporate worship. The point here is that a prayer mat is a mosque…i.e. it is a place of prostration therefore it really is true that anywhere can be a mosque. What is important is prayer not actually the mosque. But the notion of “Ummah” brotherhood makes it important that Muslims stand side by side to pray. The unity of Islam requires prayer and communal prayer therefore one must go to the mosques BUT it is not a requirement of faith, the requirement of faith is obedience and discipline, this is found in the daily ritual of salah. Being in a mosque during worship is not detrimental to how one performs the other five pillars of faith. Whether an individual goes to a mosque to pray or not does not affect any of five pillars of faith. Besides the prescribed prayers, referred to as salah, there is du’a, the cry of the heart. In this case the Muslim is encouraged to sit back on his heels, still kneeling and petition to God directly in the language that he feels most comfortable using whether this be Urdu, English or Chinese. Just as salat needs no prayer leader, so du’a can be said at any time. Du’a comes most naturally at the end of salat. As urge comes, so they may pray. At the end of du’a if the palms have been stretched out to God they will be wiped over the face in a gesture symbolizing the receipt of God’s blessing.

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