Mushalla; The Neglected Facility
Malls and shopping centres have become, like it or not, an integral part of our urban lifestyle. Metropolitan cities in Indonesia such as Surabaya, and Jakarta,are basically flooded with this type of shopping facility. As shopping, and/or, mall-hopping has become a culture, some people actually spend all day in shopping centers, even consider them as family recreation facility!
As Moslems, we are obliged to pray 5 times daily, and for people who practically spend their entire day in malls, either as staff or visitor, this generates a need for Mushallas to accommodate this need. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there hasn’t been a shopping center that is able to provide its staff and visitors with a somewhat befitting Mushalla. The Mushallas I have prayed in, in these shopping centers, are usually hidden, next to the toilets, or occupy left-over spaces near, or in vehicle parking areas. To be honest, I don’t think that the places that I have mentioned are befitting to be holy spaces!
A part of me consider this a regular issue, as mall owners are generally non-Moslem, and thus it may be the case that they think “oh well, as long as I give them a place to pray in, then it’ll be ok…” but it’s not! What if I put chappels in parking lots? I bet they’ll have something to say as well!
So, why don’t we as architects, take a closer look at these public religious facilities…they play an important role in our lives, and I reckon that they deserve to be located on a much better spot.
Nanda
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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My first post in 2009! Forgive me for the poor choice of words, and perhaps jumbled grammar, everyone…it’s been a while since my fingers dance on my notebook’s keyboard
As far as I know, re decorating this musholla’s stuff can also increase the mall rating. Isn’t it great?! Tell me if I was wrong!
mushola is one of public’s property. This should be considered by the mall owners and administrators!
I’ve ever seen some of Malls with nice mushola inside in Surakarta. It’s great to visit there!
In my opinion, building a mall oriented on the public’s religious ritual needs would be an interesting and unique concept…let’s say “shop for your soul” (no…that sounds so corny!!) Yes, Erik, there are some really nice ones, but most of them are really just…eugh…if mall owners and administrators use discreet and privacy as excuses to locate Mushallas in hidden spots, or “left-over” spaces, I guess they’re just plain stupid.
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