Rebuilt Zarqa mosque poses as anti-extremism, community service hub

AMMAN — One of the oldest mosques in Zarqa, that has been completely redesigned and rebuilt, is applying a new concept in the role of mosques in local communities, to become more of social centre than a mere place of worship.

The mosque’s imam, Ahmad Al Zu'bi, said the new identity of Masjid Al Arab involves a package of services to the community, whose members have provided significant support for the reconstruction process.

“In some way, we seek to give back to society and, at the same time, we are helping the nation and serving Islam by combating extremism”. 

It all started in 2015 when the structure was shabby and it became unsafe to perform the ritual in the mosque, which was built a century ago. 

"We were lucky the roof didn't fall on our heads," said the imam. After a team of engineers from the area volunteered to examine the building, "it was then that we realised that we needed to rebuild the mosque from ground base".

The mosque was demolished and funding to complete the project became a serious problem. The local community, a mixture of low-income and lower middle-class segments, launched a donation spree.

"The donations came from women selling their gold, children giving their money boxes, men donating their time and effort." said the imam.

"We decided to build something that would give the community more than a place to pray," said Zu’bi. “We wanted something different in every aspect.”

The new three-level building is now a landmark in the city. You can see the top of its green-patterned minaret piercing the sky from kilometres around. Its intricate white, black and brown stripe and checker pattern as well as the many arched windows that cover its exterior has made it must see.

With a state-of-the-art solar-powered building, several healthcare facilities and a fully equipped training centre with the purpose of building individual capacity, Masjid Al Arab stands out as the new generation of mosques, according to the cleric. 

"One of the most common causes for extremism is the frustration among the youth towards the socioeconomic status quo," said Zu’bi, and therefore the training centres are "free, built on the encouragement of critical thinking and constructive behaviour".

“That is why we sought help from Jordan River Foundation, which sent professional trainers who carried out training for the youth under the title ‘Combating Extremism through Social Media’”.

The mosque in its new shape and mandate “is great”, said Suliman Al Asfar, a parent of four young beneficiaries.

“It offers our children a safe place to spend their time in a useful way,” instead of playing in the streets. Safety to the father also means to keep his children away from extreme ideologies.  

“The most important thing, as far as I am concerned, is that I can send them to this mosque knowing that the imam is not politically oriented; his only motivation is to serve the community, which makes me comfortable that my children will not be exposed to extremist ideologies nor a target for terror groups’ recruiters.”

Everything is operational except the medical facilities, which are designed to be affordable and “cost effective”, according to Zu’bi, due to regulatory reasons.

Abdullah Al Aqeel, secretary general assistant for legal affairs at the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry commented: “Regulations require that an officially approved administrative committee be set up at the mosque to handle all operations, including applying for approval from the Ministry of Health.”

The clinics are expected to open their doors in December.

But what has been going at full steam at Masjid Al Arab is a tutoring programme where youth are taught, free of charge, science and languages. 

A volunteering math teacher, who preferred to remain unnamed, said: “We do this to serve the community; this is an essential part of our duty as Muslims.”

“We noticed young school children from all around Zarqa not only visiting the mosque to pray, but also spending hours between prayers volunteering to help clean the place while benefitting from the free classes,” said Ali Al Silawi, 19, a beneficiary of the programme.

As the community of Zarqa, 25km northeast Amman, became aware of the activities in this mosque, over 280 students registered in a full training summer programme to enhance their skills and knowledge.

“The children are more involved now, more aware of what they need, and are using all their spare time to benefit from what the mosque has to offer to help them advance,” Silawi said.

Professor of sociology, Hussein Alkhozahe, commented: “Two of the main reasons that lead to extremism are purposelessness and poverty, and this mosque is tackling both by creating a purpose for children by empowering them to learn for free, for the retired teachers and youth by volunteering to teach and by creating a state of involvement in the community to combat extremist ideologies through professional training.”