The application of social integration through mosque community centres

Abstract

The primary goal of a mosque is to serve as a place of worship for Muslims, a place for congregational prayer and the unity of the Muslim Ummah. Therefore, the importance of having a cohesive mosque community is essential in order to bring one another mutually together and create a strong bond of togetherness, unity and brotherhood. Furthermore, it is a platform that allows many activities to take place, such as social gatherings, educational insight and health services as well a charity center and shelter for the homeless. It is overall a one stop centre for Muslims to seek knowledge and to integrate with one another. This thesis examines the implications of integrated facilities and functions as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad S.A.W`s Masjid an-Nabaw? in this current era. The main objective of this study is to discover a way of integrating the well-being of the community within that society. Also, it is to explore and identify the functions of a mosque as a community mosque and relate it to the time of the Prophet S.A.W. Moreover, the study aims to identify the needs of a community mosque, to identify spaces which promote social integrations and to recommend good design solutions within aesthetic space planning and design elements. This study uses several research methods in order to achieve the desired results. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with three professionals in the field of Mosque Design, questionnaire surveys were distributed to two local mosques which were Masjid Ara Damansara and, Masjid Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi in Malaysia and observational studies were conducted on-site during different time periods. Survey data from 103 respondents were collected from each mosque respectively, totaling to 206 surveys. This data was analysed by using the SPSS software which translated the data into descriptive and frequency statistics. Hence, this research provides vital feedback from the respondents that will help to improve the capacity of having more supporting facilities and functions in a mosque to not only serve as a Muslim community centre but to attract and integrate people together in a progressive, integrated and interactive environment.