Peculiarities of Mosques in Islamic Tradition and it’s Evolution
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61166/maklumat.v4i3.100Keywords:
Mosques, Conventional roles, Early Islam, Islamic political institutions, Western criticismsAbstract
Mosques, the primary centres of Islamic civilization, had been a matter of study regarding the history of growth and development of Islam. These studies focused on the conventional roles that were played by mosques in early Islamic period, emphasizing mosques as the sacred places in Islamic belief. This reductionist approach exposed the Islamic history for wide criticism of lacking a systematic structure, especially in administration. Such as the criticisms raised by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook on Islam lacking proper political institutions. This study aims to answer the criticisms by explaining the mosques beyond its conventional definition and roles, from social into political and commercial, in order place the mosques of early Islamic period as the effective political institutions. Using a qualitative method, this analysis tries to explain the institution of mosque in the view of Shari’a and then gradually elaborates the idea of mosque beyond the conventional understanding. Thoroughly examining the history and location of early Islamic mosques, it elucidates the socio-cultural and geo-spatial factors that contributed to the construction of each mosque. And in conclusion, as a result, it describes the various roles played by mosques, depicting mosques as the structural institution of early Islamic administration and polity.
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