Muslim Woman: The Role of the Mosque (masjid)
The Mosque in Islamic history was the focal point where political, social, and religious activities were perfectly blended together. The concept of Islamic ideology paid as much attention to a man’s well-being and welfare in this world as much as the life hereafter. In this sense the role of the mosque has always been instrumental in the social-moral and political uplift of the Muslim Community. However, in the later period after Khilafat-e-Rashida, the period of first four pious caliphs with the decline of the political supremacy of the Muslims resulting in their disintegration under foreign rule, the concept and role of the mosque also underwent fundamental changes. Consequently the active and dynamic role the mosque played in the life of the Ummah in the period of our prophet and caliphs was reduced to a place of rituals and worship. The later concept continues up to today. This has not only rendered the mosque ineffective as a center of social uplift but it has rather indirectly or directly increased the sectarianism and parochialism among Muslims. It is therefore of paramount importance that the present concept of the role of mosques be analysed and redefined in the light of its original concept and function in the days of the Prophet and in the context of the present needs of the Muslim community.
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