Beyond the Mosque Quotes

“Drawing upon first-hand accounts from my own journey to the Muslim world – and primary and secondary scholarship when necessary – this book offers an anthropological window into Muslim piety in the early 21st century. In doing so, it is hoped that discussions concerning multiplicity in Muslim space and ritual, and Islam more widely, become more nuanced and more inclusive.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Muslims form a global community (umma) united by a common belief and value system as decreed by God. Essential to this system is the recognition of the Qur’an as God’s final message to mankind revealed through His Prophet, Muhammad (ca. 571–632), via the archangel Gabriel. The vast differences in how Islam takes form arise because of the ways in which the Qur’anic text is interpreted by communities and cultures, each with their own trajectories of history, experience and understanding”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“This is similarly reflected in the Hinduism of the West Indies (the leading religion amongst Indo-Caribbeans) and that of Bali, Indonesia. Further accentuating the diversity of each culture is the majoritarian context of one and the minoritarian context of the other. While one case consists of transplanted migrant communities that have found ways for their traditions to consciously speak through an adopted culture, the other exists as a community on an island surrounded by an archipelago of the largest Muslim population in the world. Given this evident diversity within religions, it is only to be expected that Islam – one of today’s major world religions, with over 1.5 billion adherents – is no exception.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Through acknowledging the complexity of spaces of worship across the Muslim world, we are alerted to the richness of Islam as a vibrant and universal faith.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“we should also be open to understanding that a similarly named structure may share relatively little with another – whether in its practices, its social norms, its rules, its function or administration. These differences are not to be feared but to be understood and welcomed as opportunities to see the world from another perspective, from outside ourselves. For a space is not only about its name and form but also about the community it houses and the notions of connection and belonging that it inspires – notions we can all relate to and which enrich us collectively. Meanwhile, women’s access remains contentious, with many spaces not admitting women at all, contrary to the Prophet’s practice, or else providing wholly inadequate facilities for them. Other ‘marginal’ groups such as elderly and disabled people can also struggle to have their needs met. At a time of compartmentalization of groups of varied orientations, it would seem that spaces of worship have failed to escape the wrath of”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“in recent years particularly, we have seen the negative impact of conflating spaces with faith and identity. We are increasingly witness to mosques, shrines, khanaqahs and jamatkhanas across the world being attacked because they are associated with minority communities whose beliefs are not well understood. Our collective heritage, treasures and traditions alike, are under threat from the idea of uniformity and those that would impose it rather than accepting the natural unity of our world’s diverse elements.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“On Thursday evenings after the maghrib prayer, the most propitious of gatherings takes place at the majlis. On this occasion, both the juhhal and the uqqal attend. All members listen to a wa‘z, or pious exhortation, often given by the sayis (leader, caretaker) of the majlis, or one of the other sheikhs. The wa‘z usually contains stories and poetry of revered individuals amongst the Druze and exemplifies them as models of particular virtues. Extracts from biographies of the Druze hudud (ministers) as well as medieval Sufis are not uncommon.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“According to several Druze community members I spoke with, the present Druze majlis is a continuation of the Fatimid majlis and probably began between 1017 and 1041 while the Druze were still actively seeking new converts.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“In other zikr-khanas, tapestries depicting the Ka‘ba can be seen adorning the wall, however, the direction of prayer is focused to the centre of the zikr-khana rather than a Mecca-facing qibla.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“However, non-Zikris are strictly forbidden to enter during prayer times.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“It is at this site rather than the mosque that observant Zikris gather three times a day”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“These groups often have different spaces of worship, a distinct set of rituals and less focus on the precepts of Islam that have come to define both the Sunni and, to a lesser extent, the Shi‘i constituents of Islam. Instead, they emphasize the inner dimensions of Islamic law, or shari‘a, which are referred to in different typologies as tariqa (the path or way), haqiqa (the truth) or ma‘rifa (inner knowledge, or gnosis).”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Spaces such as the khanaqah, zawiya, tekke and others are essential to the history and development of Islam. They are not tangential or marginal to Muslim experience. Rather, in the same way that the masjid developed in different ways throughout the world – both architecturally and through the rituals that developed and were enacted within its walls – so too did the wide range of Sufi spaces.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“While we tend to think of Sufism as a singular homogenous tradition of Islam, in reality, it represents multiple ways and approaches to knowing and feeling God’s presence, as we have seen. Each Sufi tariqa”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“The continuity of spiritual leadership has resulted in several key differences between the Ismailis and other Shi‘i communities. The unifying voice of the Imam at the apex of this culturally diverse community has engendered an interpretation of Islam that speaks to contemporary life, its changing challenges and realities. Maintaining a historic adherence to the Ja‘fari madhhab, while also adhering to Sufi principles of personal quest, the Ismailis seek a balance between external acts of faith (zahir) and their inner spiritual meaning (batin).”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“For Shi‘i Muslims, Muhammad’s role as rasul Allah, God’s messenger who receives the revelation, is exclusively his. The Imams are vested with exclusive knowledge and prerogative to interpret God’s word and make it relevant to subsequent generations. Thus, the ability to guide and lead contemporary Muslims is entrusted to the line of Shi‘i Imams, continuing the prophetic bloodline.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“While the mosque is considered one of the most visible symbols of Muslim presence and the salat its predominant ritual, it is clear that mosque practices are as varied as its architecture. If we begin to look beyond the mosque itself, we find a wide range of religious spaces that accommodate the spiritual and educational lives of Muslims across the world. In the next chapters, we begin to explore these additional constellations of piety and practice.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“It is notable that this was founded by an English convert, William Quilliam (d. 1932), rather than by a migrant community. At the same time, the first purpose-built mosque, the Shah Jahan Mosque, was commissioned by the Jewish-born Hungarian orientalist, Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (d. 1899), in Woking, Surrey. From these two examples alone, we see hints of the deep impact that Muslim spaces can have beyond a proximate Muslim context.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Interestingly, although Britain has enjoyed a long association with Islam, the first mosque in Britain was established only in 1889 in Liverpool.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“The earliest version of the story we have received relates that it was in the year 622, 13 years after his mission had commenced, the Prophet Muhammad constructed his first masjid at the palm oasis of Yathrib, which would eventually become Medina.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Thus, this structure also has the power to pragmatically unite the community – not only in its role as a space for congregation, but also in its almost human need to be cared for and tended to. Every year, the townspeople gather together and in an act of solidarity, pat and patch, reform and repair the mosque’s now cracked shell back upon its body. The annual spring plastering festival makes the congregational mosque much more than just a place of prayer. It helps to cement community life in the same way that the natural mortar keeps the bricks of these buildings together”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“One consequence of the rainy season is that during the spell of torrential downpours, the mosque’s exterior is reminded of its more humble beginnings. The very same water which in fact fastens the sandy crystals together during the dry season, now begins to unravel its magic and separate them. Raindrops wash their way down its outer walls, carving miniature aqueducts down its sides and returning select grains of sand to their more lowly origins upon the earth below.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“The word adobe, Arabic in origin, has come to designate an organic building made of water, clay or mud, bound together with manure or a fibrous straw or sticks.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Of China’s 56 ‘nationalities’ or ethnic groups, 10 are Muslim. The most prominent of these Muslim groups are the Chinese-speaking Hui, followed by the Turkic-speaking Uighurs – each comprising more than 10 million people.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Each mosque can be read as an articulation of a community’s identity, whether minority or majority, and is a product of the dialogue between the local and the global.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“I began to travel, explore and pray within countless masjids around the world, that I realized how much local culture, politics, and interpretations of history influence the shaping of a mosque and its architecture.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“While the mosque has come to predominate over our architectural assumptions and is often considered as the place of worship for Muslims, a survey of where ritual takes place – as is done here on my journey through the Muslim world and its sites of piety – demonstrates that there are alternative venues in which Muslims pray. After more than 1,400 years of Muslim history and development, it should come as no surprise that not only do spaces of worship beyond the mosque exist, but they can be found in all corners of the Muslim world. Placing a particular emphasis on ritual practice and space, this book focuses on the variety of expressions of worship that Islam has evoked.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Just as there is no single interpretation of Islam, the spaces and rituals that accommodate Muslim communities across the globe also have no set form.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“Worship has long served communities of the faithful as a means of communication with the Divine. Whether in the form of liturgy, or devotional acts, for many it remains an indispensable facet of day-to-day life.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship

“In spite of this, the diversity within faith communities themselves continues to challenge our preconceptions of how and where worship takes place. Just as the Coptic Christian community in Cairo have their own trajectories of piety, influenced in notable ways by their surroundings, so too do their co-religionists in Brazil who make up the world’s largest Roman Catholic population. In both cases, their history and experience of being Egyptian or Brazilian, speaking Arabic or Portuguese, or living in Mediterranean Africa or South America shape their very experience of being human, let alone Christian.”
― Rizwan Mawani, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship