Editing Mosque (section)

==Role in contemporary society==
{{See also|Political aspects of Islam}}
[[File:Aerial view of East London Mosque complex - Feb 2014.jpg|thumb|The [[East London Mosque]] was one of the first in Britain to be allowed to use [[Loudspeakers in mosques|loudspeakers]] to broadcast the [[adhan]]<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Eade|first1=John|editor1-last=Metcalf|editor1-first=Barbara Daly|title=Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe|date=1996|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-20404-1|chapter-url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft2s2004p0&chunk.id=s1.12.69&toc.id=ch12&brand=ucpress|access-date=19 April 2015|chapter=Nationalism, Community, and the Islamization of Space in London|quote=As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makingmuslimspac0000unse}}</ref>]]

===Political mobilization===

The late 20th century saw an increase in the number of mosques used for political purposes. While some governments in the Muslim world have attempted to limit the content of Friday sermons to strictly religious topics, there are also independent preachers who deliver ''khutbas'' that address social and political issues, often in emotionally charged terms. Common themes include social inequalities, necessity of [[jihad]] in the face of injustice, and the universal struggle between good and evil.<ref name=ODI/> In Islamic countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, political subjects are preached by imams at Friday congregations on a regular basis.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,411903,00.html |title=What Muslims Hear at Friday Prayers |access-date=October 31, 2010 |magazine=Der Spiegel |date=April 19, 2006 |archive-date=May 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516160649/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,411903,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Mosques often serve as meeting points for political opposition in times of crisis.<ref name=ODI/>

Countries with a minority Muslim population are more likely than Muslim-majority countries of the [[Greater Middle East]] to use mosques as a way to promote civic participation.<ref name="tc">{{Cite web |url=http://www.tc.edu/muslim-nyc/research/projects/role%20of%20muslims.html |publisher=Teachers' College – Columbia University |title=The Role of Mosques in the Civic and Political Incorporation of Muslim American |last=Jamal |first=Amany |access-date=April 22, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928143701/http://www.tc.edu/muslim-nyc/research/projects/role%20of%20muslims.html |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> Studies of US Muslims have consistently shown a positive correlation between mosque attendance and political involvement. Some of the research connects civic engagement specifically with mosque attendance for social and religious activities other than prayer.<ref name=westfall>{{Cite web|url=https://pomeps.org/2018/12/18/mosques-and-political-engagement-in-europe-and-north-america/|year=2018|title=Mosques and political engagement in Europe and North America|author=Aubrey Westfall|website=Project on Middle East Political Science}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  American mosques host [[voter registration]] and civic participation drives that promote involving Muslims, who are often first- or second-generation immigrants, in the political process. As a result of these efforts as well as attempts at mosques to keep Muslims informed about the issues facing the [[Ummah|Muslim community]], regular mosque attendants are more likely to participate in [[protest]]s, sign [[petition]]s, and otherwise be involved in politics.<ref name="tc" /> Research on Muslim civic engagement in other Western countries "is less conclusive but seems to indicate similar trends".<ref name=westfall/>

=== Political controversy ===
[[File:Wikipedia-mosquee-kruszyniany.jpg|thumb|Historic wooden [[Kruszyniany Mosque]], used by the [[Lipka Tatars|Polish Tatar]] community, and targeted by an Islamophobic attack in 2014]]
In the western world, and in the United States in particular, anti-Muslim sentiment and targeted domestic policy has created challenges for mosques and those looking to build them. There has been government and police surveillance of mosques in the US<ref>{{Cite news |title=Factsheet: The NYPD Muslim Surveillance Program |url=https://www.aclu.org/other/factsheet-nypd-muslim-surveillance-program |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507194636/https://www.aclu.org/other/factsheet-nypd-muslim-surveillance-program |archive-date=2019-05-07 |access-date=2018-06-28 |work=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en}}</ref> and local attempts to ban mosques and block constructions,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodstein |first=Laurie |date=7 August 2010 |title=Battles Around Nation Over Proposed Mosques |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/us/08mosque.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811190538/http://www.nytimes.com//2010//08//08//us//08mosque.html |archive-date=2010-08-11 |access-date=2018-06-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref> despite data showing that in fact, most Americans oppose banning the building of mosques (79%) and the surveillance of U.S. mosques (63%) as shown in a 2018 study done by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-04-30 |title=American Muslim Poll 2018: Full Report {{!}} ISPU |url=https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2018-full-report/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405095344/https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2018-full-report/ |archive-date=2019-04-05 |access-date=2018-06-28 |work=Institute for Social Policy and Understanding |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=The sentence does not make sense|date=April 2022}}

Since 2017, [[Government of China|Chinese authorities]] have destroyed or damaged two-thirds of the [[List of mosques in China|mosques]] in China's [[Xinjiang]] province.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 September 2020 |title=Thousands of Xinjiang mosques destroyed or damaged, report finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/25/thousands-of-xinjiang-mosques-destroyed-damaged-china-report-finds |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926053710/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/25/thousands-of-xinjiang-mosques-destroyed-damaged-china-report-finds |archive-date=26 September 2020 |access-date=26 September 2020 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> [[Ningxia]] officials were notified on 3 August 2018 that the [[Proposed demolition of Weizhou Grand Mosque|Weizhou Grand Mosque]] would be forcibly demolished because it had not received the proper permits before construction.<ref name="A1">{{Cite news |date=10 August 2018 |title=China mosque demolition sparks standoff in Ningxia |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45140551 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708173858/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45140551 |archive-date=8 July 2019 |access-date=8 April 2019 |publisher=bbc.com |agency=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="A2">{{Cite news |last1=Osborne |first1=Samuel |date=10 August 2018 |title=Thousands of Muslims protest China's plans to demolish mosque in rare demonstration against government |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-mosque-demolition-muslim-protests-government-weizhou-grand-mosque-ningxia-hui-a8485871.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408174247/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-mosque-demolition-muslim-protests-government-weizhou-grand-mosque-ningxia-hui-a8485871.html |archive-date=8 April 2019 |access-date=8 April 2019 |newspaper=The Independent |agency=Independent}}</ref><ref name="A3">{{Cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Rachel |date=7 April 2019 |title=Bulldozing mosques: the latest tactic in China's war against Uighur culture |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/07/bulldozing-mosques-china-war-uighur-culture-xinjiang |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214132032/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/07/bulldozing-mosques-china-war-uighur-culture-xinjiang |archive-date=14 December 2019 |access-date=8 April 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Officials in the town said that the mosque had not been given proper building permits, because it is built in a [[Middle Eastern]] style and includes numerous [[domes]] and [[minarets]].<ref name="A1" /><ref name="A2" />  The residents of Weizhou alarmed each other through [[social media]] and finally stopped the mosque destruction by public demonstrations.<ref name="A2" />

===Role in violent conflicts===
{{See also|Islamophobia|Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
[[File:Cast Lead Mosque.jpg|thumb|Mosque in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], destroyed during the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Gaza War]] in 2009]]
As they are considered important to the Muslim community, mosques, like other places of worship, can be at the heart of social conflicts. The [[Babri Mosque]] in India was the subject of such a conflict up until the early 1990s when it was demolished. Before a mutual solution could be devised, the mosque was destroyed on December 6, 1992, as the mosque was built by [[Babur]] allegedly on the site of a previous [[Hindu temple]] marking the birthplace of [[Rama]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Flashpoint Ayodhya |url=http://www.archaeology.org/0407/abstracts/ayodhya.html |date=July–August 2004 |publisher=Archaeology |last=Romey |first=Kristen M. |access-date=2006-04-23 |archive-date=2012-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122220518/http://www.archaeology.org/0407/abstracts/ayodhya.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The controversy surrounded the mosque was directly linked to [[Bombay riots|rioting in Bombay]] (present-day [[Mumbai]]) as well as [[1993 Bombay bombings|bombings in 1993]] that killed 257 people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rollins |first=John |title=International Terrorism and Transnational Crime: Security Threats, U. S. Policy, and Considerations for Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HApgi3eCLxoC&pg=PA15 |access-date=21 February 2013 |date= 2010 |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=978-1-4379-2756-6 |page=15}}</ref>

Bombings in February 2006 and [[2007 al-Askari Mosque bombing|June 2007]] seriously damaged Iraq's [[al-Askari Mosque]] and exacerbated existing tensions. Other mosque bombings in Iraq, both before and after the February 2006 bombing, have been part of the conflict between the country's groups of Muslims. In June 2005, a [[suicide bombing]] killed at least 19 people at an Afghan [[Shia Islam|Shia]] mosque near Jade Maivand.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/01/AR2005060100263.html |date=June 2, 2006 |access-date=April 23, 2006 |title=Suicide Bomber Kills 20 in Afghan Mosque |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A16 |last=Aizenman |first=N.C. |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007001755/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/01/AR2005060100263.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2006, [[2006 Jama Masjid explosions|two explosions]] occurred at India's Jama Masjid.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Darpan |first=Pratiyogita |title=Pratiyogita Darpan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trBMVnMmk6oC&pg=PT175 |access-date=21 February 2013 |date=February 2009 |publisher=Pratiyogita Darpan |page=1509}}</ref> Following the al-Askari Mosque bombing in Iraq, imams and other Islamic leaders used mosques and [[Jumu'ah|Friday prayers]] as vehicles to call for calm and peace in the midst of widespread violence.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4747886.stm |date=February 24, 2006 |access-date=April 23, 2006 |title=Friday prayer plea for Iraq calm |publisher=BBC |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031150/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4747886.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

A study 2005 indicated that while support for suicide bombings is not correlated with personal devotion to Islam among Palestinian Muslims, it is correlated with mosque attendance because "participating in communal religious rituals of any kind likely encourages support for self-sacrificing behaviors that are done for the collective good."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Study: Islam devotion not linked to terror |url=http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0405/Jun13_05/03.shtml |publisher=The University Record Online |last=Swanbrow |first=Diane |date=June 23, 2005 |access-date=February 24, 2007 |archive-date=December 30, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230212711/http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0405/Jun13_05/03.shtml }}</ref>

Following the [[September 11 attacks]], several American mosques were targeted in attacks ranging from simple [[vandalism]] to [[arson]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=3113 |title=IPA NY Voices That Must Be Heard |publisher=Indypressny.org |access-date=November 3, 2008 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160524004722/http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=3113 |archive-date=May 24, 2016 }}</ref> Furthermore, the [[Jewish Defense League]] was suspected of plotting to bomb the King Fahd Mosque in [[Culver City, California]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/jdl-chairman-follower-accused-of-plotting-to-bomb-mosque-congressman |title=JDL Chairman, Follower Accused of Plotting to Bomb Mosque, Congressman |publisher=Associated Press via Fox News |date=December 13, 2001 |access-date=April 23, 2006 |archive-date=May 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520195513/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,40693,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Similar attacks occurred throughout the United Kingdom following the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]]. Outside the Western world, in June 2001, the [[Hassan Bek Mosque]] was the target of vandalism and attacks by hundreds of Israelis after a suicide bomber killed 19 people in a night club in Tel Aviv.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1366719.stm |title=Arafat orders immediate ceasefire |date=June 3, 2001 |access-date=April 23, 2006 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031252/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1366719.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=John |title=Paranoia, poverty and wild rumours – a journey through BNP country |url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/farright/story/0,,1758974,00.html |date=April 22, 2006 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 28, 2006 |location=London |archive-date=December 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219112224/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/farright/story/0,,1758974,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12927212 |title=Italians fear mosque plans |last=Carlile |first=Jennifer |date=May 25, 2006 |access-date=May 28, 2006 |work=NBC News |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227084707/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12927212/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although mosquegoing is highly encouraged for men, it is permitted to stay at home when one feels at risk from Islamophobic persecution.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Rahman|first1=Fazlur|title=Major Themes of the Qur'an|edition=2nd|date=2009|page=147}}</ref>

===Saudi influence===
Although the Saudi involvement in Sunni mosques around the world can be traced back to the 1960s, it was not until later in the 20th century that the government of Saudi Arabia became a large influence in foreign Sunni mosques.<ref name="money-trails">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A13266-2004Aug18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714144918/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A13266-2004Aug18/ |archive-date=July 14, 2018 |title=U.S. Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities |date=August 19, 2004 |access-date=February 24, 2007 |last=Ottoway |first=David B. |page=A1 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Beginning in the 1980s, the Saudi Arabian government began to finance the construction of Sunni mosques in countries around the world. An estimated US$45 billion has been spent by the Saudi Arabian government financing mosques and Sunni Islamic schools in foreign countries. ''[[Ain al-Yaqeen]]'', a Saudi newspaper, reported in 2002 that Saudi funds may have contributed to building as many as 1,500 mosques and 2,000 other Islamic centers.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/031215/15terror.htm |title=The Saudi Connection |date=December 15, 2003 |access-date=April 17, 2006 |last=Kaplan |first=David E. |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616161452/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/031215/15terror.htm |archive-date=June 16, 2006 }}</ref>

Saudi citizens have also contributed significantly to mosques in the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]], especially in countries where they see Muslims as poor and oppressed. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, in 1992, mosques in war-torn Afghanistan saw many contributions from Saudi citizens.<ref name="money-trails" /> The King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy in [[Rome]] represent two of Saudi Arabia's largest investments in foreign mosques as former Saudi king [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud]] contributed US$8 million<ref name="money-trails" /> and US$50&nbsp;million<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com/main/m4506.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020108064304/http://www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com/main/m4506.htm |archive-date=January 8, 2002 |access-date=April 17, 2006 |publisher=King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz |title=Islamic Center in Rome, Italy }}</ref> to the two mosques, respectively.