Augmenting the Role of Mosques in Community Development

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The Sri Sendayan mosque has stunning architectural elements that has quickly earned it a nickname of being the Taj Mahal of Malaysia. While most large scale and notable mosques in Malaysia are funded by the government, this mosque was in fact a waqaf (donation) by Tan Sri Abd Rashid Hussain (the founder of RHB Group) to the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Council. The mosque was completed and hosted its first gathering for Friday prayers on 20 Sep, 2019

By: Shukran Abd Rahman

Mosque is generally known as a house of worship for Muslims, mainly serving as a place that hosts the congregation of five daily prayers, weekly Jumuah prayers, and two annual Eid prayers. In actuality, mosques throughout the world have also assumed various roles, making them an institution which is genuinely functional for the development of individuals in the society.

Historically, there have been exemplary roles of mosques, serving as the central spine for community development. During the Prophet’s time, the mosque was a centre of activities that guide the community members to lead a good life, educating them to have good relationship with God, other individuals, surrounding and even oneself. There are many instances when the Prophet (PBUH) made mosques as the centre for learning religion, sharing knowledge with others, exchanging information among community members and many other social activities. In the history of the education system, mosques in Morocco had stood as a center of higher learning, which eventually led into the formation of University of al-Qarawiyyin.

The activities conducted by mosques had empowered the society to attain progressive change, development, and improvement. For one, Islam encourages human beings to attain a good life, requiring the establishment of a system that provides guidance and support for individuals to deal with life

While the mosque is regarded as a worship centre, the mosque also functions as a centre for community development. In this regard, the presence of mosques in the community must be leveraged and that their roles must be augmented. Besides serving as a center for religious education, mosques could provide support for the society to change their socio-economic condition. This could be accomplished by the development of interventions to strengthen the role of mosques, to make them accomplish the educational and social roles imbued with spiritual aspects. This entails various measures, aimed at enhancing the effort to strengthen the structure of mosque institutions.

An augmented structure of a mosque would enable it to improve the design of mosque programmes, diversify the approaches of dealing with people, improve the function of mosque as public space, increase the population of beneficiaries, and many other interventions. Such are important enablers to making mosques as genuinely functioning community development centers.

As a community development center, mosques have critical roles in personal psycho-social-spiritual development of individuals in the society.

This human development level requires strategic efforts of mosque management to provide activities that facilitate people to acquire knowledge, expand experience, radiate wisdom to others, receive support on life matters, fulfill religious duties, and meet their spiritual needs.

For the educational activities, mosques could organise programmes to develop a good religious foundation for teenagers, nurture positive behaviours among youths, provide social support for adults, and guide good lifestyles for elderly people. Special programmes for women, people with special needs, or marginalised individuals could also be conducted, guiding them on ways to lead progressive life and curb negative behaviours.

The social activities entail programmes that focus on providing avenue for people to socialise with others, such as interacting during the breaking-of-fast or iftar sessions. Mosque-goers have been found to report

Ask the Imam (Q&A)

Advising a person to his face

Question: 94557

What is the ruling on speaking directly to a person and telling him of his faults whilst he is listening? Is this permissible?

Praise be to Allah.

Supervised by Shaykh

Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid

This is permissible if it is done in order to advice the person and rebuke him so that he will be deterred from committing sin. It should be done in a nice and polite manner so that the advice will be accepted. But if it is done in a mean-spirited way, intending to shame him, insult him and expose him to people, etc., then this is not permitted.

(Source: islamqa.info/en/answers a positive significant relationship between their religious involvement at mosques and their level of happiness, life satisfaction, morale, positive affect and other aspects of well-being (Shukran, 2021). This in turn strengthen the camaraderie among the community members.

Some mosques conduct or coordinate health-related programmes, as well as economic and welfare activities, to be benefited by many groups of people. Mosques could engage partnering service providers to conduct or fund activities that improve the well-being and economic condition of community members.

Some mosques have played the role of reference center on psycho-socio-spiritual issues. It was reported that mosques have altered certain spiritual-religious practices during the spread of transmissible diseases, like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many adjustment have also been made on ways the worship or ritual activities were conducted in the mosques.

The spiritual activities are the cornerstone of mosque activities, in that all programmes should be spirituality based, being aware of the essentiality of religious teaching and values in substantiating the educational and social activities. Mosque has been providing a guide for people on matters related to religious obligation, and their spiritual development. In short, mosques carry significant roles to provide psychological, spiritual, and social support that help ease the individuals in the society to deal with pressing life demands.

A good mosque is the function of an efficient management team, to include mosque managers, imam, and other committee members. They are responsible for the planning, leading, organizing and managing mosque activities that could enliven the collective aspects of mosques and, in turn, bring about benefits to mosque goers, and others in the surrounding community.

Among the core duties and responsibilities of mosque managers include managing mosque workers, committee members, or volunteers. It is hence necessary to equip the mosque workforce with the required knowledge and skills. It is important to facilitate mosque managers’ participation in acquiring management competencies such digital skills, management skills, people skills and other mosques management enabling skills.

Secondly, mosque management should facilitate the process to equip mosque educators with relevant skills, essential to enhance their effectiveness when conducting religious education classes. This includes providing them with knowledge on contemporary issues, teaching skills, communication skills, and other related skills that enable them to take up new approaches to educating the community.

Thirdly, mosque management should be sensitive to the needs of people in the mosque surrounding, such as the circumstances they face, and the occasions they celebrate. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, mosques in some countries altered the regular activities of mosques. They also provided guidelines of the procedure to attend ritual activities at mosques by taking into account the importance of protecting good health, practicing hygiene related behaviors during certain circumstances.

Mosque management should organise activities which are to the benefit of various groups in the community, including the locals and expatriates. This entails attending to the needs and expectations of the community by taking into account the uniqueness and particularity of each locality in terms of their social, economic, and cultural background. This is important to ensure a good-fit between mosque activities and participants’ needs and background. In ensuring that the mosque has adequate manpower, the management should recruit volunteers to assist the operation of the mosque. This entails inviting youth and community members to become volunteers. They could be trained to become managers of activities, committee members of programmes, or volunteers in daily operations. They could also be a special task force to deal with any crises or difficult situations encountered by the community. There could also be a team who attend to various social scenarios, and provide solutions which suit the local context, such as in dealing with moral decadence or social illness.

Shukran Abd Rahman is professor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences. This article was written based on information gathered during a meeting with the man behind the majestic Sri Sendayan Mosque in Malaysia, Tan Sri Abd Rashid Hussain. Source:islamicity.org

Prayer Schedule in Greater Vancouver

1 dead, 1 injured in targeted shooting in Surrey, B.C., police say

Avenue and 148 Street in the Guildford neighbourhood at about 8 p.m. PT.

When officers arrived, they found two people with gunshot wounds. Police say one man was taken to hospital, where he later died. The other person’s injuries were non-life-threatening, RCMP added.

Poilievre demands Trudeau release details on alleged threats made to Conservative MP

Investigators seeking dashcam footage from 14800-block of 108 Avenue at 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday. One man is dead and another person was injured in a shooting in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday night, according to police. Surrey RCMP say they were called to 108

B.C. Emergency Health Services confirmed that two people were taken to hospital, one of whom was in critical condition. It said four ambulances responded to the incident.

Police say initial information indicates this was a targeted attack, and are suggesting it is tied to the B.C. gang conflict. Surrey RCMP

Speaking during question period at the House of Commons on Tuesday, Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre grilled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on details regarding federal awareness of reported threats against Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family two years ago.

Source: globalnews.ca/news confirmed Monday morning that a vehicle they believe was tied to the shooting was found in Langley, B.C., and there was an “attempt” to light it on fire. Man dead after targeted shooting in Surrey, B.C., IHIT says The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is now investigating alongside Surrey RCMP. Police are asking witnesses or those with dashcam footage from the 14800-block of 108 Avenue between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday to contact IHIT at 1-877-551-4448 or ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.Source: cbc.ca/news

Surrey Councillor Mandeep Nagra Urges Mayor and City Council to Lower Property Taxes and Accept Province’s Recommendation to Continue with Surrey Police Service Transition

SURREY, April 30, 2023 - Surrey

Councillor Mandeep Nagra is calling on Mayor Brenda Locke and city council to accept the Province’s recommendation to continue with the Surrey Police Service (SPS) transition.

Nagra believes that the Province’s commitment to supporting the SPS transition, by providing approximately $30M per year in funding, presents a unique opportunity to lower property taxes and provide much-needed relief for Surrey residents who are strug- gling to make ends meet amid a looming recession and skyrocketing inflation.

“The Mayor’s refusal to accept the Province’s offer to support the SPS transition and lower property taxes is a betrayal of Surrey residents,” said Nagra. “Her party’s decision to raise property taxes to a historic high of 12.5% is making life harder for working families and small businesses in our city. We must act now to reverse this decision and use the Province’s funding to lower property taxes to single digits.”

Former Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum, who was a champion for a community-based urban police force and kept property taxes at a historically low rate of 2.5%, also spoke out in support of Nagra’s call to lower property taxes for Surrey residents.

“The Province’s funding support for the SPS transition is a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to provide the best public safety services to our residents while also solving the issue that the Council has been complaining about, which is the money,” said McCallum. “The Mayor and city council must put the interests of Surrey residents first and accept the Province’s offer of funding support and lower property taxes now.”

Nagra concluded, “It’s a common sense solution, we must seize this opportunity to make a real difference for Surrey residents. We cannot afford to wait any longer. The Mayor and city council must act now to accept the Province’s funding support for the SPS transition and lower property taxes to provide much-needed relief to our residents.”

Media Contact, Mandeep Nagra

Spring Cleaning Made Easy with Surrey’s Disposal Days May 12-30

Surrey, BC – Spring cleaning just got easier for Surrey residents.

City of Surrey is pleased to announce a return of its popular Disposal Days event, providing residents a safe and convenient way to dispose of unwanted waste.

From May 12-30, residents can drop off their recycling, garbage and household items for free or discounted rates at both the new Central Surrey and North Surrey Recycling and Waste centres.

During this promo, all recyclables including mattresses (maximum 4 units), electronics, metals, appliances, paints, used oil, and antifreeze will be free. Garbage disposal fees for the first 300kg will also be free. Fees will be reduced by 50% for loads between 301kg up to a maximum of 1,000kg. Proof of residency required, limit of one trip per household. Commercial and business vehicles not permitted. For details, visit surrey. ca/disposaldays.

Disposal Days is part of the City’s ongoing efforts to promote sustainability and responsible waste management, ensuring that Surrey remains a clean and safe place for everyone.

Can’t make it to the drop-off event?

Book a Large Item Pickup and we will pick up your unwanted items right from your curb! It’s easy to book online at surrey.ca/largeitems or call 604-590-7289 (Option 3).

Permit Processing Improvements Providing Positive Impact on Access to housing in Surrey

Surrey, B.C. – Demand for development is high in Surrey and improvements in the City’s development approval processes are continuing to provide significant positive impact on overall community access to housing. During its Regular Council Meeting Monday, Surrey Council received an update that the City continued to meet or beat all of its Guaranteed Permitting Timelines in the first quarter of 2023.

“I’m pleased that the City has continued to meet its Guaranteed Permitting Timelines in the first quarter of 2023,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “I commend the hard work of staff in meeting these targets –and beating them in many cases.

Surrey has taken a very bold step in setting ambitious targets for processing applications, and for being transparent and open in reporting our performance in meeting these targets each Quarter. This Council recognizes that we are in a housing crisis in this region, and that our role is to do what we can to help deliver good, affordable housing along the with industrial and commercial space that supports good jobs, and to do it as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

In the first quarter of 2023, the City experienced an increase in applications for Tenant Improvement Building Permits and Rezoning Applications versus the same quarter last year. New staff resources have been onboarded to assist with site servicing reviews and the associated processing time is expected to be reduced in the coming weeks. The City also seeks to add Renovation/Addition Building Permits, Electrical Permits, and Plumbing Permits to the Guaranteed Permitting Timelines, with implementation in mid-2023.

On average, the City receives 850 Single-Family building permits, 520 Tenant Improvement building permits, and 130 Rezoning applications per year.

Agree to 40% rent hike or we may sell your homes, landlord tells Surrey, B.C., renters

Landlords asking for rents higher than usual annual limits ‘shockingly common’, says lawyer.

Tenants in Surrey, B.C., are devastated their landlord demanded a 40 per cent rent hike from them — with a warning if they don’t agree, they could lose their homes.

A tenants’ rights advocate says while the situation has some unusual aspects, landlords are free to make demands for higher rent, and many do. Linda De Gonzalez, 70, has lived in Winsome Place Apartments since 2002. She lives on a $2,100-a-month pension and pays $1,014 a month for her twobedroom unit, well below the CMHC’s median rent for such a unit in Surrey — a city east of Vancouver — at $1,446. But in late April, De Gonzalez and almost half her neighbours received a notice from their landlord. It said due to the landlord’s growing costs, renters must pay more. The residences at Winsome Place are condominium units, but have long been rented out. De Gonzalez’s letter asks her to agree to hike her rent to $1,450 — a 42 per cent rise.

“We may put your suite on the market for sale as soon as July 1, 2023 if an agreement is not reached,” the letter read. “If the purchaser of the suite you occupy would like to move into the suite, you may receive Notice to Vacate from them.” The letter notes Winsome Place is, in fact, strata titled. “If we choose to, we could sell your suite at any time.” ”I nearly fainted,” De Gonzalez said. “I just sat on the floor and cried.”.. Source: cbc.ca/news

POLITICS in Pakistan is like an Abbas Mastan film (think Race) where twists and turns come faster than an Agatha Christie novel and the end brings so much relief from the edge-of-theseat moments that no one wants to think of the holes in the plots.

The only difference is that no one — just no one — in Pakistani politics can look as good as Saif Ali Khan or Bipasha Basu (I confess my heart wasn’t strong enough to risk watching the sequels).

And while there is much in the past one year with Race vibes (KhanBajwa or Bandial-Isa share a chemistry that can be matched by Saif and Akshaye Khanna but instead of sensuous songs we make do with audio and video leaks), the excitement over the weekend in Lahore really took it to new levels.

There was a bizarre raid on Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s house — bizarre initially because the cameras had obviously been called in to broadcast it live.

The phrase ‘the revolution will be televised’ has taken on a new meaning in our country, where we are forbidden from reporting on terrorist attacks or speeches of political leaders, but raids on politicians’ homes make for good television. And of course, what is broadcast live is also tweeted live.

And so it was that Friday night rapidly went from TGIF to many of us wondering when should we switch off and fall asleep, as videos of the gate being rammed down and people being mauled were inundating phone sets across the country. But there was more that was bi-