A Muslim friend once told me that the word mosque was derived from the word mosquito. “It’s a Crusader plot to defame Muslims,” he confided. Like most conspiracy theories, however, it’s plain baloney. First of all, the Crusaders are dead. Second of all, Crusaders were too stupid to have concocted any sort of etymological device to describe their enemies. The height of Crusader ingenuity was probably describing their feet being colored to the ankles with the blood of the slain Jews and Muslims of Jerusalem.
But mosques are interesting in other ways. When extremists want to show the Shias in Iraq who is boss, they bomb the domes off Shia mosques. Now, if you think bombing domes are an odd way of sending a message, think again. History attests that some Muslims- well, actually those belonging to a certain strain- have been at domes for a long time, including the green one that is currently above Prophet Muhammad’s grave.
Why the dome-fetish, though? Some Muslims apparently believe that building domes above the graves of holy men promotes shirik (idolatry). In the world of the dome-destroyers, the logic even extends to Prophet Muhammad’s tomb.
In some countries, mosques are seen as a barometer for radical teachings. India for example, has this exquisite national monument, the Grand Mosque, that is in urgent need of repair. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia offered to pump in money to fund the reconstruction. The Indian media, ever
the rabid watchdog over its troublesome minorities, was quick to point out that the offer had a caveat. The kingdom
apparently wants to fund education too. Naturally, Indian security agencies are wary that the money could go into preaching radical Islam.
But that’s all fluff. If I were an Indian Muslim, I would be more worried about the Grand Mosque not keeping its distinctive style. Not only is it an eclectic mix of Hindu and Muslim architecture, there are three graves within the mosque’s compound. And
its obscene complement of fifteen domes (yes, 15!) can only belong in a dome-destroyer’s fantasy.
The re-construction might degenerate into a de-construction project, as happened
in the
Saudi-aided reconstruction of Sarajevo’s mosques in the aftermath of the
Bosnian genocide. A mosque that is deliberately torn from its native context-
as expressed through its unique architecture- is well on its way to nurturing an
exclusivist mindset amongst Muslims that India can frankly do less with.
Then, there’s good old England. According to Guardian Unlimited:
A plan to build a ‘mega mosque’ in east London has become mired in controversy with allegations that it is being bankrolled by Islamist groups in Saudi Arabia. Opponents say it would promote a radical form of Islam. They accuse its backers of not consulting local people.Oddly enough, the mosque has created a unique coalition of protesters comprising local Muslims and Christians. Way to go, silent majority!
Tablighi Jamaat, the controversial Islamist sect that has applied for planning permission for the multi-million-pound mosque, has been described by French intelligence as ‘an antechamber of fundamentalism’. This evangelical movement, which has gained a strong following among young male Muslims, is a Deobandi Muslim organisation that has close links with the Wahhabi fundamentalist form of the religion promoted in Saudi Arabia and practised by the Saudi royal family.
The sect, which bought the brownfield site in the early Nineties, has sent hundreds of British Muslims to madrassas – religious schools – in Pakistan each year. There are concerns within British intelligence that these trips may have radicalised some of them. Followers have also attended the sect’s Saudi-financed UK headquarters in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. They include Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, two of the bombers who struck London on 7 July last year.
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A sad tale, the confluence of politics, religion, fear, suspicion, and misunderstanding.
Inshallah, God-willing, it will get better.
Ya Haqq!
Salaam dear,
Congrats on your win!
Warmly,
Baraka
The prophet forbade building anything on top of graves,building mosques over them,turning to them a place of worship and almost every pagan ritual that goes on in the name of “awliya” of today in india.
this is the ijmaa’ of the early scholars of all the four madhabs, you can dislike it for its “wahhabism” but the truth remains and you cant do nothing about
Imam ash-Shafii said: “I prefer that the soil used for a grave be no more than that dug for that grave. I like to see a grave raised above the ground the length of a hand or so. I prefer not to erect a structure over a grave or to whitewash it, for indeed this resembles decoration and vanity, and death is not the time for either of these things. I have never seen the graves of the Muhajirin or Ansar plastered. I have
seen the Muslim authorities destroying structures in graveyards, and I have not seen any jurists object to this.”[Kitabul Umm]
Ar-Razi said “They(the polytheists) made these idols in the likeness of their prophets and elders. and they claimed that when they busy themselves with worship of these statues ,the elders will become their intercessors with Allah .Similar to them in this time are the actions of many people who busy themselves with glorification of graves of the elders(/great men) with the belief that when they glorify their graves(of the righteous) they will be their intercessors with Allah” [Tafseerul Kabeer 10:31]
Congratulations on the Brass Crescent award!
jus passing through and thought I’d give props on your nice blog.
Interesting stuff… Incidentally, I recently posted something about a poem that was mentioned in one of your favorite movies: equlibrium
A good friend and I were debating if it was better than the matrix (part 1). He thinks so, I beg to differ.
as salaamu alaikum.
Hi :
I actually looked up mosque in wikipedia, and this is what I found :
“The modern-day English word “mosque”, just like its equivalents in many other European languages, derives from the word masjid via Spanish mezquita.[1]“
It also provides a reference. Upon some more googling, I found this :
http://www.renaissance.com.pk/febq52y3.html
I do agree with you, however, that we Muslims get too hung up over these issues. But it wouldn’t really surprise (or bother me), and I always use the word mosque in English, because it’s a perfectly good word to use. However, I still find it interesting to look at the origins of words. As brother Adnan points out (second link above), Arabs used the word “ajami” to refer to non-Arabs. So, I’m sure it works both ways.
Saif.