ISLAM AND SOCIAL STUDIES
Year:2021 | Volume:8 | Issue:4 (32)|Papers Count:7

The current paper seeks to examine the relationship between social harms and the mosque as a symbol of religion. Social harms in contemporary Iran are the continuation of global harms that modernity has been its main reason. Therefore, religion and the mosque, which had a preventive role in the face of social harms, have lost their special function of repelling harms and have been shrunk to functions for removing the harms due to diminishing their presence in the contemporary era. This paper aims to draw a phenomenological approach to mosques in the contemporary era and its method of research is documentary and descriptive-analytical. The findings show that mosques have historically played the ideal, jihadist, and civic role in the absence of modern specialized institutions or functional dysfunction of society. However, with the expansion, invasion of the civilizational, cultural, and media harms, there is a need for an ideal response from the same specialized institutions, of course with an Iranian-Islamic model. In case of urgency and need for the role of the mosque, strengthening the facilities, equipment and setting appropriate budgets in the mosques are considered necessity and introduction to establish a balanced confrontation, otherwise the expectation of removing and treating harms from mosques is illogical and requires the acquittal of modernity.

The mosque is the most important social institution of the Islamic society and is considered the axis of other social systems and institutions. The type of relationship and interaction with this holy institution determines the meaning and place of other social institutions in Islamic society. Undoubtedly, in such a structure, the mosque can use all its capacities to create a desirable map in the Islamic society and be effective. Examples of this role-playing can be found in the historical and social experience of Muslims, especially in the early days of Islam. Nevertheless, it seems that in the current society, despite the efforts of those in charge of the Islamic system in the arena of the mosque, the place and function of the mosque has always changed and, as expected, it has not performed its desired social functions in society. The main question of the paper is that "What are the reasons for the change in the place and reduction of the social functions of the mosque in the contemporary era? " The study aims to find out the most important causes. The research method is descriptive-analytical and documentary method is used to collect information. The findings suggest that changes in the levels of legislation, policymaking and management, the emergence of similar institutions and the type of practical programs in the mosque, has changed the social status and, consequently, reduced the ideal functions of the mosque, especially in the face of social problems and harms.

The mosque has a valuable place in Islamic culture and plays an important role in social systems. The mosque, as an influential institution in the social arena, has many important elements and factors that can manage social harms. These important elements are called cultural drivers. A proper understanding of the cultural drivers makes social policymakers take advantage of the mosque’ s cultural potential to manage social harms. This paper aims to identify and analyze the cultural drivers of mosques and determine the relationships between them to manage social harms. The main question is: What are the cultural drivers of mosques in the management of social harms and what is the relationship between these cultural drivers? To solve the research problem, the researcher used the qualitative content analysis method to find the cultural drivers and then analyzed the relationships between each of the identified cultural drivers using the interpretive structural method. The identified cultural drivers are development and expansion of jihadi groups, promotion of religious values in neighborhoods, development of social vitality, development and expansion of recreational sports activities, central role of mosque in neighborhoods, utilization of peripheral capacities, and the high social status of mosques among the people. These cultural drivers were structured in six levels.

The mosque and the role of the people of the mosque in guiding social activists in increasing the generation of believers is very important. Guiding the people towards the survival and increase of the pure generation will take place in the mosques. In addition to the profound impacts on social structures, population growth will depend on human factors and social actors. In the religious community, the agency of the activists is manifested in the mosques as places of worship. Meanwhile, the role of religious elites (scholars) in intellectual guidance and social behaviors is very significant, and today any social actions depend on elite role-playing. Hence, how can mosques, as a social place and the place of the emergence of ideological thinking and Islamic worldview, play a role in reducing demographic harms? To answer this question, the study has used an analytical-descriptive method that describes events and phenomena based on descriptive information. The findings of the study indicate that human factors in the elite reference groups of mosques can extract religious theories from the source of the Holy Quran and its ijtihadi interpretation to orient the thought and behavior of social activists; they can also prevent population decline by explaining the multiplicity of births. Providing effective solutions in this prevention is one of the innovations of this study.

In addition to its main role, which according to religious texts is the place of worship of Muslims, the mosque can have other roles such as creating grounds for solidarity and social work, influencing the cultural micro-system of society, producing and perpetuating culture abstracted from religious texts and sources. One of the important roles of the mosque can be to regulate, reform, and improve social relationships as well as the relationships between spouses. Relationships that sometimes turn into deep conflicts due to incompatibilities, lead to family breakup, and then followed by a variety of harms at different micro and macro levels. The current paper seeks to answer the question, "How can a mosque be effective in controlling the social harms of divorce? " This paper explains the issue with a qualitative method and analysis of verses of the Qur’ an, narrations and lifestyle of the Fourteen Infallibles. The findings show that, through using its capacities and developing its functions, especially in matters related to family, the mosque can provide the basis for initial awareness to prevent conflicts, and plan in some interventions before the marriage. The mosque can also teach problemsolving skills to couples, and in case of incompatibilities, by providing expert advice, increase their tolerance and resolve their conflicts. Finally, in case of divorce, the mosque can reduce the social harms of this phenomenon by providing the context and carrying out some support and practical actions for the couple and children, as well as laying the groundwork for remarriage.

Addiction is one of the most important social harms of today’ s society. Despite the efforts of legal and executive institutions to control and prevent this harm, according to official statistics, the status of the aspects of this phenomenon is still critical. In addition to the various role-playing of official and non-official institutions, the mosque can play a role in preventing and reducing addiction due to its special place and special impact on the people of society. The main question of this study is how and at what level can the mosque play a role in this social issue? Its purpose is to identify how this sacred social institution plays roles as well as to achieve the mechanisms for its proper confrontation with this contemporary social phenomenon. A combination of documentary and qualitative methods (interview and observation) have been used to collect research information, and content analysis method has been used to analyze the data. According to the research findings, the mosque, due to its capacity and transcendent place in the human community, especially Muslim communities, can play roles by considering the principles of organizational work in accordance with the requirements of the mosque at different levels of prevention, treatment, and fight against addiction and protection of recovered addicts and their families in the neighborhood and the surrounding area.

The foundation of the Islamic society is based on the mosque. The mosque, with its various functions in various social dimensions and with emphasis on the spiritual aspect, has a guiding role for human beings towards Allah Almighty. The teachings promoted from the mosque are all organized by directing the individual and social life of human beings to the path of righteousness and, as a result, his happiness. The mosque, apart from its inner capacities to guide human beings, can make the public space similar to its inner space in interaction with other institutions of society. The general expectation from the environment around the mosque is the impact of the spiritual atmosphere inside the mosque on its surroundings. However, today the environment around the mosque is mainly influenced by external social life and the mosque has little effect on it for various reasons, and therefore we see committing all kinds of crimes, social incompatibilities, tensions, thefts, conflicts, etc. in the neighborhood and communities where there usually exists a mosque. The question is how the mosque can act in the face of these minor problems and help improve its surrounding environment. The research method is descriptiveanalytical. The Findings suggest that the capacities of improving the social environment around the mosque have not been well identified and explained, and therefore have been less used in practice. The mosque can help improve the neighborhood and its surroundings and play a special role in the formation of Islamic society through activating its interaction mechanisms with the surrounding environment, such as defining specific parts of the mosque and neighborhood, using the capacity of social and managerial science elites, and benefiting the ability of families to take on some roles in official institutions.