A mosque, also called masjid, is a place of worship for Muslims. Any act of worship that follows the Islamic rules of prayer can be said to create a mosque, whether or not it takes place in a special building. Informal and open-air places of worship are called musalla, while mosques used for communal prayer on Fridays are known as jumaʿ. Mosque buildings typically contain an ornamental niche (mihrab) set into the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca (qiblah), ablution facilities and minarets from which calls to prayer are issued. The pulpit (minbar), from which the Friday (jumu'ah) sermon (khutba) is delivered, was in earlier times characteristic of the central city mosque, but has since become common in smaller mosques. Mosques typically have segregated spaces for men and women. This basic pattern of organization has assumed different forms depending on the region, period and denomination.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is the third holiest site in Islam. The mosque was built on top of the Temple Mount, known as the Al Aqsa Compound or Haram esh-Sharif in Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the 16th or 17th month after his migration from Mecca to Medina, when Allah directed him to turn towards the Kaaba in Mecca.
A minbar is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam stands to deliver sermons. It is also used in other similar contexts such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation.
There is a difference of opinion among Muslims regarding the circumstances in which women may act as imams, i.e. to lead a congregation in salat (prayer). The orthodox position is that women cannot lead prayers, which is justified by the different roles that men and women take in society. A small number of schools of Islamic thought make exceptions for tarawih or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives. Women acting as leaders, teachers, and authorities in other capacities however is not deviating from the Islamic orthodoxy as women have never been restricted from becoming scholars, ulema, jurists, muftis, preachers, missionaries, or spiritual guides. There is a long history of female masters of Islamic sciences teaching men - the four imams of Sunni orthodoxy all were taught by women.
The Al-Fateh Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world, encompassing 6,500 square meters and having the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time. The mosque was built by the late Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa in 1987 and was named after Ahmed Al Fateh. In 2006, Al-Fateh became the site of the National Library of Bahrain.
Gender segregation in Islamic law, custom, law and traditions refers to the practices and requirements in Islamic countries and communities for the separation of men and boys from women and girls in social and other settings. Scholars differ as to whether the Qur'an requires gender segregation, and, if so, the hadith that require it. There are diverging opinions among experts in Islamic theology concerning gender segregation.
Islam in the Indian Ocean was established by Muslim sea merchants well before the European discovery of Seychelles. However, unlike in other island states including the Comoros and Maldives, there were no permanent inhabitants in Seychelles until the French settlement in 1770. Today, the Muslim population of the islands is reported to be only 1.1%, roughly 900 people. Many of its island neighbors in the southern Indian Ocean, including Comoros, the Maldives and Zanzibar, have a much larger Muslim influence because of their colonization by Muslims, before European colonization. Mauritius also has a much higher Muslim population due to the importation of labour from British India on a scale not seen in Seychelles. The government of Seychelles allows 15 minutes of religious broadcasting every Friday for the Muslim community.
The Islamic Society of Central New York is a "purpose-built" Sunni mosque and Islamic community centre located on Comstock Avenue in Syracuse, NY. Founded in 1981, by Khaja Qutubuddin, the center serves the needs of Central New York's estimated 15,000 - 20,000 Muslims providing various services and outreach programs for the Muslim and non-Muslim community. It also runs an Islamic cemetery and the Madrasat Al Ihsan/School of Excellence on West Onondaga Street. The mosque is served by a full-time Imam and is administered by an elected Shura Council.
In 2010, there were an estimated 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia representing fewer than 0.1% of the country's population.
According to the 2016 census, Islam is practised by 4.1% of the population of Hong Kong, or about 300,000 Muslims. Of this number, 50,000 are Chinese, 150,000 are Indonesians and 30,000 are Pakistanis, with the rest from other parts of the world. The vast majority of Muslims in Hong Kong are Sunni.
Islam in Macau is a minority religion in the region. Currently there are around more than 400 Muslims in Macau in which they call themselves as The Macau Islamic Society. According to the Islamic Union of Hong Kong, together with all of the foreign Muslim workers combined, Muslims in Macau accounted for more than 10,000 people.
The Reykjavík Mosque is a mosque and gathering area for Muslims in Iceland. It is located in the Ármúli district. The mosque was opened in 2002 by the Muslim Association of Iceland after requesting the city government for permission to build a purpose-built mosque in 2000, with no swift response.
According to Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad said "Do not prepare yourself for a journey except to three Mosques: Masjid al-Haram, the Mosque of Aqsa (Jerusalem) and my Mosque." In the Islamic tradition, the Kaaba is considered the holiest site, followed by the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Lists of mosques cover mosques, places of worship for Muslims. The lists include the most famous, largest and oldest mosques, and mosques mentioned in the Quran, as well as lists of mosques in each region and country of the world. The major regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania are sorted alphabetically. The sub-regions, such as Northeast and Northwest Africa in Africa, and Arabia and South Asia in Asia, are sorted by the dates in which their first mosques were reportedly established, more or less, barring those that are mentioned by name in the Quran.
Raheel Raza is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker, media consultant, pro-Israel, anti-racism activist, and interfaith discussion leader. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Mahkamah Mosque is a congregational mosque and madrasa, built in 1455. It was destroyed by Israeli bombing during the attack on Gaza in 2014. The mosque was located along Baghdad Street near the main western entrance of the Shuja'iyya district in Gaza City, Palestine.
Fahraj is a village in Fahraj Rural District, in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 2,694, in 697 families. Located 30 km southeast of Yazd on the road to Bafq, at the foothill of Chalta mountain, Fahraj lies in an arid region on the edge of the desert and relies on qanats and deep wells for its water supply. Its population consists mainly of Persian-speaking Shi'ites.
The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) is a system of mosques in Greater Houston. It is headquartered at the Eastside Main Center in Upper Kirby in Houston.
