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Title: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: Heba E. Husseyn on February 04, 2012, 10:51:15 am (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c4/d2/e8/c4d2e8197206c26adc3e62e60d0cd477.jpg)
The Crystal Mosque in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia made of crystals cost $80 million. This Mosque was completed between 2006 and 2008. The Malaysian Welfare Department gives widows, disabled citizens, seniors or anyone not able to work (and many aren't) a monthly stipend equivalent to USD 1.5 a month. It's barely enough to survive on. In 2007, a young school boy who's mother suffered from severe cardiac problems and could not work committed suicide after he could not afford to buy ice cream in school, and his classmates called the food he packed from home "dog vomit". At the time the Welfare Department was paying them less than 90 cents a month. After the boy's suicide made headlines, the Welfare Department upped it to USD 1.5. Unfortunately such cases among the poor aren't isolated ones in Malaysia. As a Malaysian analyst writes: "Perhaps we aren't as great a country as we'd like to think. We think we've made great strides forward, but yet there are people virtually dying of starvation. True, they might not die directly of hunger — but if they are committing suicide because of poverty, the consequences are exactly the same." Masjids need to be neat and simple. NOWHERE has Allah Almighty told us that masjids must look like 5-star hotels and be constructed with crystals and marbles at the cost of the poor living on a dollar a month. Image source: Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/wilhelmtan/8265781675) Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: MuslimanMahlon on February 06, 2012, 03:54:01 am Yeah, that's just overdoing it... I wouldn't step foot into such a masjid. Not to sound like the evil Muslim HA! But if I had choices, it wouldn't be that. Sorry, not attracted to the glamour.
Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: Heba E. Husseyn on February 07, 2012, 02:03:30 am Yeah right. Allah tells us to adorn Him in every place of worship, not to adorn the place itself. Remembrance of Allah and feeding the poor are mentioned in the Quran numerous times. Yet today, remembrance of Allah has become a ritual and no one cares a damn for the hungry ones. The only way they can think of honoring our great Faith is by such ostentatious displays :(
Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: Ruhi_Rose on February 07, 2012, 06:05:12 am Gosh !!!!!! Indeed it's beautiful but this is not the purpose of a masjid. $80 million in Malaysia is a hell of a lot of money. They could have built a very nice & simple masjid for $10 million and just imagine how many useful projects could have been started for orphans,widows and seniors for $70 million. Muslims are surely their own worst enemies.
Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: iwan rse on March 18, 2012, 12:45:55 am The Malaysian Welfare Department gives widows, disabled citizens, seniors or anyone not able to work (and many aren't) a monthly stipend equivalent to USD 1.5 a month. It's barely enough to survive on. In 2007, a young school boy who's mother suffered from severe cardiac problems and could not work committed suicide after he could not afford to buy ice cream in school, and his classmates called the food he packed from home "dog vomit". At the time the Welfare Department was paying them less than 90 cents a month. After the boy's suicide made headlines, the Welfare Department upped it to USD 1.5. Unfortunately such cases among the poor aren't isolated ones in Malaysia. [/size] As for such low budget to feed the poor East Asia nation combating poverty via education, not feeding the poor. Malaysia spend 10 billion dollar in education alone. My nation spending 20billion dollar. As for 80million dollar mosque, Yes it is honor Islam. Just looks at cordova mosque today. they are extravagance at their time yes?. India and Pakistan spending billion dollar for nuclear weapon. A little trigger finger and poofs-ppofs you ppl all gone. Now that is extravagance ;D Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: iwan rse on March 18, 2012, 12:46:13 am remove this
Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: iwan rse on March 18, 2012, 12:46:50 am sorry, double post Title: Re: Can such extravagance honor Islam? Post by: Heba E. Husseyn on March 26, 2012, 03:58:15 am Yes, nuclear programs might be extravagant but then again perhaps not quite. One needs to scrutinize the political needs behind it. India acquired nukes prior to Pakistan. That made Pakistan seek nukes too otherwise India would constantly bully and threaten Pakistan by feeling one up on her. At present, as we see, India is very cautious while interacting with Pakistan. Why? It's because Pakistan also has nukes and that's left India in no position to throw its weight around. About the Cordoba masjid, yes it's extravagance too. But firstly, don't forget, many plush structures were built by the Ommayads and Abbasids more than a thousand years ago when cost of living was much, much, much lower than it is today. Thus, it wasn't as unfair on the poor as it is now. Yet, it was extravagance. The simple fact is that while Allah wants us to keep our masjids neat, clean and decent, He has never said in the Quran that our masjids must look like 5-star Sheraton hotels by giving the beautiful decor preference to feeding the poor. The Ommayads and the Abbasids were notorious spendthrifts which was not an admirable trait. History becomes precious simply because of its facts, not because of its splendor and outward show. There were many structures built in Makkah and Medinah too during the time of the Prophet (s) and the 4 righteous Caliphs which made up some excellent Islamic heritage and which were torn down by the Wahabis in the 1920s. These structures were not at all opulent nor showy nor costly. They were just simple constructions and the simplicity was the beauty of these structures. When the Prophet (s) built Masjid-e-Nabawi after arriving in Medinah, do you think it was like the Cordoba mosque? Not at all. No way would the Prophet (s) ever agree to it even if he had the money. That's because the Prophet (s) had different priorities than those misguided rulers who began coming a hundred years later. |