Sometimes the situation is even worse. The people entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the masjid only open the masjid at prayer time. At other times the masjid is locked. Not only the door to the main prayer hall, but even the main gate into the compound!
As such nowadays, our masjids are a far cry from what they use to be during the time of our beloved Prophet and his companions.
The masjid is the epicentre of the muslim community. In all early muslim communities the masjid always occupied the central position. Everything else was built around it. Now it has been pushed to the sidelines. What is more important now is form rather than function, the tallest, the biggest, the highest and what have you.
We muslims must reignite the very substance and role of the masjid. Masjids are social centres, centres of obtaining and disseminating knowledge, youth centres and centres that propagate our religion. Masjids must have areas for gatherings, games and community activities, so that the whole community regardless of age can actively be part of it.
Masjids must be managed by persons truly dedicated to this course. People who are able and will think out of the box. People who are willing to embrace this paradigm shift.
Until and unless this occurs, the sorry state of our masjids will continue.
