COVID-19: Masjid-youth engagement initiatives and communication barriers

Abstract

Masjid is regarded as one of the most important institutions in Islam. During the post-Hijra phase of Muslim community in Madinah, masjid has been established as the centre for the ummah which significantly contributed to the arisen of Muslim civilitation in the past. Nowadays, most masjid however seem to have narrowed down its function for merely worshipping purposes. Notably, this institution is facing challenges to engage the whole segment of the society particularly Muslim youth, the failure of which would jeopadize the effort to instil the necessary Muslim characters and values in them. Covid-19 pandemic which had started in the first quarter of the year 2020 has further worsen the situation. If this problem persists, the future of masjid as the basic foundation of the ummah is threatened, uncertain and will continue to be less relevant in a community. The primary objective of this study is to analyse the initiatives taken in engaging Muslim youth with masjid before and during Covid-19 pandemic. A online survey was distributed to Muslim youth nationwide and a total of 556 responses were received and analysed. This study found that the initiatives taken to engage Muslim youth with masjid before and during Covid-19 pandemic are barely sufficient and need further improvement. A possibility of serious communication gap between masjid and the Muslim youth was also highlighted. This is the first large scale study on Covid-19 and its implications on the engagement of Muslim youth with masjid. The findings are regarded as relevant and beneficial to all relevant parties particularly the State Religious Authorities in their effort to improve the engagement of Muslim youth with masjid as well as to revive masjid as a prominent institution in the Muslim community in Malaysia.