Gender and Socio-Spatial Assemblage at Masjid Al-Irsyad Kota Baru Parahyangan, Indonesia

Tutin Aryanti, Trias Megayanti, Indah Susanti, Dian Fitria

Abstract


Despite their non-mandatory attendance in the mosques, women have been significant users of mosques in Indonesia. They organize community programs, attend daily prayers, and participate in Islamic learning sessions (kajian). Masjid Al-Irsyad (built in 2009) in Kota Baru Parahyangan, Indonesia, is a popular venue for the kajian among women in the surrounding area. This article examines the design of Masjid Al-Irsyad, its flexible uses as a social space, the design based on gender analysis aspects, women’s preference for space, and the social interactions fostered and hampered by the spatial layout. Based on using data withdrawn from a survey of female mosque users and observations, this article finds that the open plan allows flexible use of space, which better accommodates women’s need for space in the mosque and encourages women’s active participation, and a more equal yet remains “Islamic” interaction in the mosque as an Islamic community center. It also blurs the gendered spatial boundary and hierarchy. The space of Masjid Al-Irsyad is a socio-spatial assemblage that opens a broader opportunity for equal gender relations in the mosque. However, the open plan also reduces women’s privacy, an essential spatial aspect.

Keywords


gendered space; Islamic architecture; mosque; social space; socio-spatial assemblage

Full Text:

PDF

References


[1] M. H. Katz, Women in the Mosque: A History of Legal Thought and Social Practice. Columbia University Press, 2014.

[2] S. Mazumdar and A. Mazumdar, "Rethinking Public and Private Space: Religion and Women in Muslim Society," Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, vol. 18, pp. 302-324, 2001.

[3] R. Woodlock, "The Masjid is for Men: Competing Voices in the Debate about Australian Muslim Women's Access to Mosques," Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 51-60, 2010. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410903481853.

[4] R. Woodlock and S. Carland, "Muslim Women’s Mosque Access," presented at The Challenges of Religious Pluralism Conference of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, July 27-31, 2009, 2009.

[5] N. Abbott, "Women and the state on the eve of Islam," The American Journal of Semitic Languages, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 259-284, 1941.

[6] N. Abbott, "Women and the State in Early Islam," The Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 1, pp. 106-126, 1942.

[7] B. F. Stowasser, Women in the Qur'an, Tradition, and Interpretations. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

[8] N. Reda, "Women in the Mosque: Historical Perspective on Segregation," American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, vol. 21, pp. 77-97, 2004. doi: https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v21i2.504

[9] "The Book of Prayers," in Sahih Muslim 442d, Book 4, Hadith 153. https://sunnah.com/muslim:442d.

[10] "The Book of Prayers," in Sahih Muslim 442a, Book 4, Hadith 150. https://sunnah.com/muslim:442a.

[11] L. Nyhagen, "Mosques as Gendered Spaces: The Complexity of Women’s Compliance with, And Resistance to, Dominant Gender Norms, and the Importance of Male Allies," Religions, vol. 10, no. 5, p. 321, 2019. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10050321

[12] N. Ghafournia, "Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque," Religions, vol. 11, no. 12, doi: 10.3390/rel11120686.

[13] S. A. Nageeb, "Appropriating the Mosque: Women’s Religious Groups in Khartoum," Afrika Spectrum, vol. 42, pp. 5-27, 2007.

[14] P. V. Doorn-Harder, Women Shaping Islam: Reading the Qur'an in Indonesia. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006.

[15] T. Aryanti, "The Center vs. the Periphery in Central-Javanese Mosque Architecture," Dimensi Teknik Arsitektur, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 73-80, 2007. doi: https://doi.org/10.9744/dimensi.34.2.pp.%2073-80

[16] R. Holod and H.-U. Khan, The Mosque and the Modern World: Architects, Patrons and Designs since the 1950s. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1997.

[17] L. K. Weisman, Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994.

[18] D. Spain, Gendered Spaces. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1992.

[19] A. Kusno, "'The Reality of One-which-is-two,' Mosque Battles, and Other Stories: Architecture, Religion, and Politics in the Javanese World," Journal of Architectural Education, vol. 57, pp. 57-67, 2003. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/104648803322336593

[20] A. Fawaid, Z. Zamroni, and H. Baharun, "Contesting Sacred Architecture: Politics of ‘Nation-State’ in the Battles of Mosques in Java," QIJIS (Qudus International Journal of Islamic Studies), vol. 7, p. 129, 07/11 2019, doi: 10.21043/qijis.v7i1.4365.

[21] H. D. Puspitorini, "Kenyamanan Thermal pada Masjid Al-Irsyad Kotabaru Parahyangan, Jawa Barat," JA! UBL, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 37-44, 2013. doi: 10.36448/jaubl.v4i1.460

[22] A. N. Udjianto Pawitro, Tamdy Septiandi, Arief Hernomo, "Kajian Ekspresi Ruang Luar dan Ruang Dalam pada Bangunan Masjid Al-Irsyad Kota Baru Parahyangan Ditinjau dari Sustainable Design," Reka Karsa, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1-12, 2014. doi: https://doi.org/10.26760/rekakarsa.v2i2.460

[23] R. D. Nazhar, "Kajian Makna: Mihrab Masjid Kontemporer Al-Irsyad Kota Baru Parahyangan," Serat Rupa Journal of Design, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 246-257, 2016. doi: https://doi.org/10.28932/srjd.v1i2.454

[24] H. Lefebvre, The Production of Space. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991.

[25] G. Deleuze and F. Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus. London, England: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.

[26] D. Massey, Space, Place, and Gender. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994.

[27] A. Hubeis, "Gender Analysis Pathway (GAP) in Policy Outlook and Action Planning in Cooperative and Small-Medium Enterprises," Bureau of Women Empowerment National Planning Board (Bappenas) RI with Expansion Employment Opportunity for Women (EEOW) Project-ILO. Jakarta, 2001.

[28] BPP Nasional, KNP Perempuan, Gender Analysis Pathway (GAP) Alat Analisis Gender Untuk Perencanaan Pembangunan. Jakarta: Kementerian Negara Pemberdayaan Perempuan Republik Indonesia, 2008

[29] Y. Ardhiati, "The New Architecture of Mosque Design to Express the Modernity of Moslems," Global Advanced Research Journal of Arts and Humanities, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 75-78, 2013.

[30] K. A. C. Creswell, A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 1989.

[31] J. Johns, "'The "House of the Prophet" and the Concept of the Mosque'," in Bayt Al-Maqdis: Jerusalem and early Islam, J. Johns Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 59-112.

[32] E. J. Grube and G. Michell, Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning, with a Complete Survey of Key Monuments. Thames and Hudson, 1978.

[33] J. D. Hoag, Islamic Architecture: History of World Architecture. London: Phaidon Press, 2004.

[34] M. A. Baillie, S. Fraser, and M. J. Brown, "Do Women Spend More Time in the Restroom than Men?," Psychological Reports, vol. 105, pp. 789-790, 2009. doi: https://doi.org/10.2466/PR0.105.3.789-790

[35] R. Colker, "Public Restrooms: Flipping the Default Rules," SSRN Electronic Journal, vol. 01, no.01, 2017, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2937718.

[36] D. F. Ruggles, "Vision and Power: An Introduction," in Women, Patronage, and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies, D. F. Ruggles Ed. New York: State University of New York Press, 2000, pp. 1-15.

[37] A. Elewa and L. Silvers, "I am one of the People”: A Survey and Analysis of Legal Arguments on Woman-Led Prayer in Islam," Journal of Law and Religion, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 141-171, 2010, doi: 10.1017/S074808140000093X.

[38] T. Aryanti, "The Claim to Space: Debating Female Religious Leadership in a Muhammadiyah Mosque in Indonesia," The Muslim World, vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 375-388, 2013.

[39] K. Dovey and K. Fisher, "Designing for adaptation: the school as socio-spatial assemblage," The Journal of Architecture, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 43-63, 2014/01/02 2014, doi: 10.1080/13602365.2014.882376.

[40] T. Aryanti, "Women's Prayer Space: Body and Boundary," The International Journal of the Constructed Environment, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 177-190, 2012. doi: 10.18848/2154-8587/cgp/v02i03/37343.

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Candara",sans-serif;

mso-fareast-font-family:"Malgun Gothic";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;

mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;

color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-ansi-language:IN;mso-fareast-language:

EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>

style='mso-element:field-end'>




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v8i2.23476

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Islamic Architecture

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

EDITORIAL OFFICE

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Technology
Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Jalan Gajayana 50 Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia 65144
Phone (+62) 341 558933,Facsimile (+62) 341 558933
e-mail: journal.islamicarchitecture@gmail.com / jia@uin-malang.ac.id

 

 Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.