Editing Mosque (section)

===Non-Muslim inclusion===
[[File:Bush Islamic Center Washington.jpg|thumb|left|President [[George W. Bush]] inside the [[Islamic Center of Washington|Islamic Center]] of [[Washington D.C.]], US]]

Under most interpretations of ''sharia'', non-Muslims are permitted to enter mosques provided that they respect the place and the people inside it.{{additional citation needed|date=June 2017}} A dissenting opinion and minority view is presented by followers of the [[Maliki]] school of Islamic jurisprudence, who argue that non-Muslims may not be allowed into mosques under any circumstances.<ref name="mawardi112" />

The Quran addresses the subject of non-Muslims, and particularly [[polytheism|polytheists]], in mosques in two verses in its ninth chapter, [[At-Tawba|Sura At-Tawba]]. The seventeenth verse of the chapter prohibits those who ''join gods with Allah''—polytheists—from maintaining mosques:
{{Blockquote|It is not for the polytheists to maintain the mosques of Allah while they openly profess disbelief. Their deeds are void, and they will be in the Fire forever.|{{qref|9|17|c=y}}}}

The twenty-eighth verse of the same chapter is more specific as it only considers polytheists in the [[Masjid al-Haram]] in Mecca:
{{Blockquote|O believers! Indeed, the polytheists are ˹spiritually˺ impure, so they should not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year. If you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.|{{qref|9|28|c=y}}}}

According to [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], these verses were followed to the letter at the times of Muhammad, when [[Jews]] and Christians, considered [[monotheism|monotheists]], were still allowed to ''Al-Masjid Al-Haram''. The Umayyad caliph [[Umar II]] later forbade non-Muslims from entering mosques, and his ruling remains in practice in present-day Saudi Arabia.<ref name="Masdjid1" /> Today, the decision on whether non-Muslims should be allowed to enter mosques varies. With few exceptions, mosques in the Arabian Peninsula as well as Morocco do not allow entry to non-Muslims. For example, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is one of only two mosques in Morocco currently open to non-Muslims.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/02/25/morocco.travel.ap/index.html |title=Morocco travel |work=CNN|access-date=September 22, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012004112/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/02/25/morocco.travel.ap/index.html |archive-date=October 12, 2007 }}</ref>

There are many other mosques in the West and Islamic world which non-Muslims are welcome to enter. Most mosques in the United States, for example, report receiving non-Muslim visitors every month. Many mosques throughout the United States welcome non-Muslims as a sign of openness to the rest of the community as well as to encourage conversions to Islam.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Takim |first=Liyakatali |date=July 2004 |title=From Conversion to Conversation: Interfaith Dialogue in Post 9–11 America |journal=The Muslim World |volume=94 |pages=343–355 |url=http://www.macdonald.hartsem.edu/articles/mw943f.pdf |access-date=June 16, 2006 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2004.00058.x |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618192654/http://macdonald.hartsem.edu/articles/mw943f.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2006 }} [http://www.ltakim.com/ Liyakatali Takim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218012727/http://www.ltakim.com/ |date=2012-02-18 }} is a professor at [[McMaster University]]</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4511780.stm |publisher=BBC |access-date=June 16, 2006 |title=Laptop link-up: A day at the mosque |date=December 5, 2005 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418171725/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4511780.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In modern-day Saudi Arabia, the Grand Mosque and all of Mecca are open only to Muslims. Likewise, Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi and the city of [[Medina]] that surrounds it are also off-limits to those who do not practice Islam.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions |last=Goring |first=Rosemary |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-85326-354-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/wordsworthdictio0000unse }}</ref> For mosques in other areas, it has most commonly been taken that non-Muslims may only enter mosques if granted permission to do so by Muslims, and if they have a legitimate reason. All entrants regardless of [[List of religions and spiritual traditions|religious affiliation]] are expected to respect the rules and [[decorum]] for mosques.<ref name="teach-islam" />

In modern Turkey, non-Muslim tourists are allowed to enter any mosque, but there are some strict rules. Visiting a mosque is allowed only between prayers; visitors are required to wear long trousers and not to wear shoes, women must cover their heads; visitors are not allowed to interrupt praying Muslims, especially by taking photos of them; no loud talk is allowed; and no references to other religions are allowed (no crosses on necklaces, no cross gestures, etc.) Similar rules apply to mosques in Malaysia, where larger mosques that are also tourist attractions (such as the [[National Mosque of Malaysia|Masjid Negara]]) provide robes and headscarves for visitors who are deemed inappropriately attired.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Peter |title=Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei |year=1996 |publisher=Lonely Planet |location=Hawthorn, Vic. |isbn=978-0-86442-393-1 |edition=6th|first2=Chris |last2=Taylor |first3=Hugh |last3=Finlay}}</ref>

In certain times and places, non-Muslims were expected to behave a certain way in the vicinity of a mosque: in some Moroccan cities, Jews were required to remove their shoes when passing by a mosque;<ref>{{Cite book |first=Norman |last=Stillman |title=The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book |publisher=Jewish Publication Society of America |location=Philadelphia |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-8276-0116-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/jewsofarablands00stil/page/83 83] |url=https://archive.org/details/jewsofarablands00stil/page/83 }}</ref> in 18th-century Egypt, Jews and Christians had to dismount before several mosques in veneration of their sanctity.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Bat Ye'or |author-link=Bat Ye'or |title=Islam and Dhimmitude. Where Civilizations Collide |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press/Associated University Presses |location=Madison/Teaneck, NJ |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8386-3943-6 |page=98}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2022}}

The association of the mosque with education remained one of its main characteristics throughout history,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nizamoglu |first=Cem |date=2001-08-12 |title=Education in Islam - The Role of the Mosque |url=https://muslimheritage.com/education-in-islam-the-role-of-the-mosque/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Muslim Heritage |archive-date=2022-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106001009/https://muslimheritage.com/education-in-islam-the-role-of-the-mosque/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the school became an indispensable appendage to the mosque. From the earliest days of Islam, the mosque was the center of the Muslim community, a place for prayer, meditation, religious instruction, political discussion, and a school. Anywhere Islam took hold, mosques were established, and basic religious and educational instruction began.<ref>Qureshi, M. 1990. ''The Role of the Mosque in Islam''. New Delhi: International Islamic Publishers.</ref>