“Not Just a House to Honour God”: Mosques in the Malay World as Cosmopolitan Spaces

Abstract

This article argues that mosques are not just devotional places but also projections of the cosmopolitan temperaments of Muslims in the Malay world. This is evidenced, first, in the aesthetics and architecture of the mosques that draw upon so many religious and cultural traditions. I then show how the close proximity between mosques and other places of worship and the sharing of sacred spaces have ensured the continued vitality of cosmopolitanism among Muslims and non-Muslims in the Malay World. For many generations, mosques have functioned as sites that sustain the spirit of mutual tolerance and cooperation between Muslims and adherents of other faiths to ensure the safety and welfare of their communities. In his study of mosques in Europe, Roemer van Toorn noted that a mosque ‘is not just a house to honour God, but a place to come together, a collective space for the community. In short, a mosque as a space can provide a counterweight to the “public” space of the individualized and consuming human being (2009, p.112). I would extend this illuminating reflection further to argue that mosques in the Malay World are also places that enable different faiths, persuasions, ideologies and temperaments to interact, collaborate, amalgamate and appreciate the beauty of the Muslim belief, giving rise to a dynamic and peaceful environment. To demonstrate this point, I will first dissect the aesthetics of the mosque. This is followed by an examination of the tolerance and cooperation between the worshippers at these mosques and devotees of other faiths at nearby religious sites. I delve into the inclusive nature of mosques, allowing non-Muslims to utilise the space for their own purposes. Before making the case for us to begin to view mosques as cosmopolitan spaces, I recount, in very broad strokes, the evolution of mosque building in the Malay World. The wide scope of the topic would not allow me (or anyone) to discuss in vivid detail the history of all mosques in the Malay World. What I hope to provide here is a sketch for reflection, a macroscopic view that would encourage us to see the forest apart from the trees, so to speak, in the path to cement the point that mosques are indeed reflections, expressions, manifestations, representations and symbols of cosmopolitanism.