| dc.description.abstract | Mosques are established as physical manifestations of Islam and its cultural identity in
every settlement in Malaysia, including in urban areas. The original concept of the
mosque suggests that its use as a community place should be all-encompassing, not only
for Muslims, but also to inspire the involvement of other community members. In spite
of far-reaching studies conducted on the importance of mosque architecture, historical
background and functions, very little attention has been paid to the utilisation, functions
and importance of mosque open spaces to the multicultural community. This study aims
to explore the spatial and sociocultural factors of urban mosque open spaces in order to
determine the extent to which intercultural space exists within them. The study focuses
on three urban mosques at the national, district and sub-district levels in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. Guided by theory of place and the concepts of affordance and social
affordance, this study employs a mixed method strategy with a cross-sectional design. It
comprises both quantitative – systematic observation with behaviour mapping at
selected urban mosques – and qualitative – focus group discussions with mosque
managers and multicultural users – methods, as well as findings with regard to the use
of mosque open spaces that were derived from social media sources such as Facebook
and blogs. The findings show that more multicultural users utilise the National Mosque
open spaces in comparison to those at district and sub-district mosques. Patterns were
identified in the spatial occupancies based on gender, age group, ethnicity and activities
at all of the urban mosque open spaces studied. People‟s identification of their favourite
open spaces and preference for outdoor activities, as well as the current condition and
design of the mosque open spaces, influences the utilisation of urban mosque open
spaces by multicultural users. Both opportunities and challenges may arise in relation to
multicultural use in the form of public friendliness, accessibility, community sensitivity
and mosque etiquette. This study highlights several factors that encourage better
intercultural interaction at mosque open spaces: good social activities; the good design,
facilities and accessibility of mosque open spaces; proper promotion, publicity and
education; and social acceptance among community members. | en |
