|
Further reading: Gilles Kepel, Muslim Extremism in
Egypt: The Prophet and the Pharaoh. Translated by Jon
Rothschild (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1985); John Renard, All the King’s Falcons: Rumi on
Prophets and Revelation (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1994): 67–86; Ahmad ibn Muham-
mad al-Thalabi, Arais al-majalis fi qisas al-anbiya, or
“Lives of the Prophets.” Translated by William M. Brin-
ner (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2002): 278–414; Robert Tottoli,
Biblical Prophets in the Quran and Muslim Literature
(Richmond, England: Curzon Press, 2002); Brannon
Wheeler, Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis (Lon-
don: Routledge, 2002).
Moslem
See i
slam
.
mosque
(Arabic:
masjid, ritual prostration
place)
A
hadith
that proclaims the entire world a mosque
indicates that Muslims may pray anywhere as long
as certain rules are observed. Chief among these
is correct orientation toward m
ecca
, the
qibla
.
An object placed in front of the person at
prayer
insures the integrity of the qibla by acting as a
barrier (sutra) between this person and passersby.
Ritual purity is required for the person and the
prayer area. One way of insuring it is to reserve a
cloth or rug exclusively for prayer. By conforming
to these rules, Muslims can fulfill prayer obli-
gations several times a day (the number varies
among sects but is often five). These individual
acts of prayer then create a mosque every time
they take place regardless of the availability of
buildings created specifically for this purpose.
The absence of liturgical rituals in i
slam
also
makes mosque buildings unnecessary, though
they have always existed in large numbers and
varied forms.
The phrase masjid juma (Friday mosque) or
masjid jami (“collective” or community mosque)
refers to mosques used for required group prayers
on Fridays. The historical forerunner of these
mosques is considered the mosque built by
m
Uhammad
at m
edina
. In the past, the jami was
distinguished by the presence of a
minbar
and was
always associated with cities. These were the first
mosques to acquire monumental form, a process
that began in 705–715.
Mosques quickly acquired a standard set
of forms and elements. The earliest ones were
divided into two parts, a covered prayer hall and
an open courtyard. The far wall of the prayer hall
is the qibla wall. A niche
mihrab
marks the center
of this wall in proximity to the minbar, with the
two defining an important area (maqsura) often
covered with a dome. a
blUtion
fountains (may-
daa) appear in or at the edges of the courtyard.
Tall towers (
minaret
s) mark mosques visually and
transmit their presence audibly in as much as the
call to prayer (
adhan
) is sometimes transmitted
from them. This basic template was always subject
to variation according to location, population,
and sectarian divergences; and books of mosque
rules became a prominent genre in the Middle
Ages. Historically, the only constants were the
K 484
Moslem
close association between Friday mosques and
urban areas populated by Muslims and the role of
mosques in announcing the presence of Islam in
the land. Mosques were usually funded privately
by rulers, wealthy patrons, and various social
groups and organizations. Great mosques tended
to legitimize the leaders, demonstrating simulta-
neously their piety, their wealth, and their power.
In many Muslim countries, mosques are con-
nected to tombs and shrines for important rulers
and holy people. Muhammad’s mosque in Medina
as an exemplary representation of this, for it also
contains his tomb, as well as that of other impor-
tant members of the early Muslim community.
His mosque also exemplifies the social function
of the mosque, for it served as a communal meet-
ing place. People went there both to pray and to
discuss social and religious matters. Soon after
the early Islamic conquests of the seventh and
eighth centuries, the mosque became an identify-
ing element of Muslim presence. It also became an
important educational center, a function that con-
tributed to the creation of the
madrasa
(religious
college) by the 11th century.
The most highly esteemed mosques in the
Muslim world are the Grand Mosque in Mecca,
Sultan Hasan Mosque (left, 14th century) and al-Rifai Mosque (right, 19th century), Cairo, Egypt. Both mosques
contain tombs for rulers; the Sultan Hasan Mosque also once housed four madrasas.
(Juan E. Campo)
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: | 
