Ending Authoritarian Regimes in Our Mosques: One Step Closer to a Just and Prosperous Society.

It doesn't matter if you're a staunchly observant Muslim partaking in daily collective prayers or a staunchly liberal Muslim who only attends Eid prayers, the Mosque is undeniably the focal point of Muslim society anywhere in the world. But what happens when the heart of our polity is authoritarian?

Firstly, what does authoritarian mean? One track minded, proactively controlling social behaviour, dictatorial in nature with absolute power concentrating at the the top. Sounds like much of the Muslim world today. Authoritarianism is a sign of an underdeveloped society. During the Golden Ages of Islam, it was up to the scholar-activists to prevent such a sad state.

In a multicultural polity like the one Western Muslims are living in today, symptoms of authoritarian mosques might include but are not limited to: underrepresentation of Muslim minority groups, cultural hegemony of majority Muslim groups such that certain sociocultural values and languages that are not necessarily "Islamic" are subtly enforced, an obscure governing board, disengaged youth and a community filled with unresolved (and unvoiced) social problems including domestic abuse, human rights violations, and high crime and incarceration rates of young males among many other things.

Authoritarian regimes are a recipe for an unjust society. Unjust societies prevent prosperity.

When Prophet Muhammed PBUH founded the first mosque, it was a safe space for Muslims of all tribes, ethnic backgrounds, financial backgrounds and genders. The Prophet was a judge handing verdicts, he was a spiritual/psychiatric councillor interpreting dreams and helping people know themselves better, he led prayers, gave sermons, he was a politician resolving disputes, and a teacher raising his followers and sharpening their character.

Today, The Prophet PBUH is not with us, but he left the basic tools for us to recreate him PBUH in the form of institutions. YES! The Prophet PBUH can still exist today as an institution. Because not one man can do what the Prophet PBUH has done, perhaps we can split his (PBUH) task between many people, within defined space (establishments), and along his (PBUH) principles (sunnah). This will ensure sustainability and that power (i.e. corruption) does not fall into one person's hand--as is commonly the case in mosques.

This also ensures that both men and women play active roles.

That institution is the mosque.

The mosque is a place of worship, but it is also a place where social problems can be brought to the table, studied and solved. Perhaps creating parliamentary spaces within mosques can be a first step towards a more accurate representation of the Muslim community, and an healthy alternative to Arab Mosques, South Asian Mosques and African Mosques. Furthermore, parliamentary systems can help Muslims be active deciders on how Zakaat/Donations/Sadaqaa money could best spent for the community.

Parliamentary features don't come without some negative aspects, however. Parliamentary environments tend to be filled with heated debates, and can result in severe backlashes from culturally conservative Muslims who view mosques as maintainers of cultural traditions. Parliamentary environments can also potentially create schisms between Muslims in regards to how Mosque donations should be spent on the community.

With important pros and cons about parliaments in mosques, it falls upon our generation to decided the best solution for a more just and prosperous tomorrow.