Wednesday, 8 Nov 2023

Yeah, I recently visited a mosque that I wasn't aware of. I mean, I had some ideas, but it turns out I was mistaken, to some extent. I went to Masjid India, which is actually near Masjid Jamek. Until then, I always assumed that Masjid India and Masjid Jamek were the same mosques. However, it turns out they are two different places.

Firstly, when viewed from a distance, without focusing on the minaret or the dome, it doesn't quite look like a mosque, to be honest. Actually, now that I think about it, I've noticed that building from afar before. I just always thought it was a temple, perhaps a Hindu temple. But obviously, that wasn't the case. I can't quite put my finger on why I thought that; maybe it's because Hindu temples have a distinct structure that this building could have.

Nevertheless, in terms of materials used, general architecture, and the dome and minaret, it clearly reflects a very Indian-inspired design. Despite the architecture, it's situated in the heart of the city. It's relatively small, especially for such a popular mosque. It's also one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in Kuala Lumpur. I believe it was established in the 1860s or maybe the 1870s. I heard there's a free guided tour at 10 am to 12 pm, Monday to Thursday, if I'm not mistaken. I was intrigued, but unfortunately, I don't think I have time for that this week.

One noticeable aspect is the demography. Obviously named Masjid India, there are a lot of signs in Hindi, possibly Tamil too—translations for things like "Toilet" or "Tandas" are over there," with little pointers here and there. However, there are also signs in English and some in Tamil or Hindi, and I can't differentiate between those two. It's quite interesting.

Secondly, the demographics of the people there seem to be predominantly foreigners, I would say. Oh, let me rephrase that. The majority are usually non-locals. As far as I observed, during my Asr prayer there, I believe I was the only Malay present. Then, when it comes to the Maghrib prayer, I notice more and more Malays. But that's still the minority. Regardless, it's quite impressive. I was really taken aback by the number of people attending; I've never seen such a large congregation, especially for a mosque. It's not very big, but seeing the main prayer hall almost full was heartwarming. It's designated for men; I'm not sure about the attendance of the second floor designated for women. But it was really nice to see that the tradition over there is a bit different. I did mention that it's mostly non-locals. I mean that in the sense that working people, like working Muslims around the mosque, come there to pray, which is quite interesting. If we observe the attitude, it's different from what I've seen among the Malays, the working Malays. I'll talk about Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru. I did visit that as well, but I'll discuss it in a separate video. I just want to make a comparison. There are working people around the masjid, with businesses and restaurants. But as far as I can see, there are a lot of different people from various backgrounds coming to Masjid India. But I can't say the same for Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru.

I don't know all, but the majority of the sellers, because there are a lot of restaurants surrounding, mostly within their compound, and one thing I noticed is that you don't see a lot of sellers like restaurant owners or workers praying there. Maybe it's because it's regarding salah Isyak, and they can pray later at home. Maybe the situation is different for salah Maghrib. I don't know. I'll think positively, but from my experience, I'm quite impressed by the tenacity and the priority of these non-Malay people in terms of prayer. Despite their work, they prioritize praying on time. They've got their priorities right. I can't say the same for Malays in the sense that obviously, there are certain individuals who really prioritize their prayers, but it's only a few. I'm not saying that all non-Malays are good at adhering to prayer schedules. We're talking about different social. Economic backgrounds here, but the ones from different economic backgrounds, different age levels, that I usually see in mainly majority mosques are usually the well-off ones, maybe older. You don't see many adolescents, people around my age. Some, yes, but it's not the majority. So yeah, that's how I compare them in terms of priorities when it comes to prayer.

Wait, let me check my notes. I did write something down when I was at Masjid India; let me have a look. And then yeah, one thing when we see how those mosques exist in the city center, we can see that Masjid Jamek is more prominent, with a huge space dedicated to the mosque, as opposed to Masjid India, kind of blending in with the other shop houses in terms of space. I'm not talking about architecture or design; I mean, it kind of blends in with the surrounding areas. It doesn't have a spacious space like a big space just for the mosque. Usually, if we see mosques in Malaysia, they allocate a huge space, including the parking lot and other facilities. Obviously, they can't do the same for city center mosques. But Masjid India takes a step back in that aspect; they don't have any space for parking lots, obviously, since it's in the city. It also doesn't have a huge courtyard. So it blends in with the other shop houses, the other buildings around Masjid India. This type of mosque reminds me of the ones I've visited in Western countries with non-Muslim majorities. In my opinion, it makes it a bit difficult to figure out the location because it blends in nicely with the city fabric. So yeah, I think that's pretty much what I was thinking about the mosque. The facilities are okay. If not. I mean, in terms of cleanliness. It's clean, obviously, but it's not like a hotel clean. It's just like a regular mosque clean. So yeah, I think that's pretty much it. I might have talked too long. I'll talk about the other mosque I've mentioned in a separate video, maybe tomorrow because I'm a little tired right now. Other than that, bye-bye.

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