International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR) eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4 No. 4 [December 2022]
Journal website: http://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijssr
FACTORS INVOLVED IN MANAGING SUSTAINABLE MOSQUES FACILITIES
Zafirah Ab. Muin1*, Maimunah Sapri2, Aminah Mohsin3, Maryanti Mohd Raid4 and Farin Ain Ismail Kassim5
1 3 4 5 Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, MALAYSIA
2 Centre for Real Estate Studies, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, MALAYSIA
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Article Information:
Article history:
Received date : 27 October 2022 Revised date : 10 November 2022 Accepted date : 12 November 2022 Published date : 19 December 2022
To cite this document:
Ab Muin, Z., Sapri, M., Mohsin, A., Mohd Raid, M., &Ismail Kassim, F.
A. (2022). FACTORS
INVOLVED IN MANAGING SUSTAINABLE MOSQUES FACILITIES. International Journal of Social Science Research, 4(4), 186-192.
Abstract: In the Islamic society, mosques are extremely important. They have been envisioned as centres for many aspects of Islamic community development in addition to serving as places of prayer. But as mosques proliferate, a new problem with mosque management has emerged, demanding the implementation of a productive system. Many claim that well-managed services enable an organisation to operate at its most effective and efficient level, delivering considerable value to the company's core business while boosting flexibility. As a result, the management of sustainable facilities (SFM) is an option mosque management should take into consideration and this is believed to be a strategy that will aid the mosque in maintaining its operations. However, implementing SFM in a mosque necessitates a paradigm shift in terms of management, the use of technology, and end-user behaviour.
Encouragement of management hierarchy within the organisation and end users to understand the significance and impact of sustainable development is the major role that the FM profession may play in attaining the aforementioned objectives. When it comes to managing the facilities and services of a property, FM experts must be proactive and set a positive example. So, in order to have a beneficial effect on implementing SFM, the goal of this study is to analyse the factors involved in managing sustainable mosque facilities. A review of the published literature on SFM was done as part of the process. According to the review, the establishment of strict government regulations, the organization's sustainability policy, the commitment and expertise of the facilities manager, the participation of senior management staff, and
1. Introduction
In Islam, the mosque is the most significant institution. Mosque is a building with a unique occupancy schedule in which within a 24-hour period may see some people visit the mosque just once, twice, three times, or even five times. The mosque is undoubtedly a place where Muslims may have a spiritually uplifting experience (Sapri et al., 2016; Najafi and Sharif, 2014). A Muslim who frequents the mosque is therefore inexorably drawn closer to Allah S.W.T., the Creator. This has highlighted the need for mosques to serve as centres for fostering communal growth over time.
The term ‘mosque’ has been defined the same way by past academics. Mosque is the translation of the Arabic word "masjid" (plural: masajid) (Najafi et al., 2014; Mahazan, 2013; Mustari., 2008; Rasdi, 1998; 1999; Mokhtar, 1997). According to Islamic literature, the word ‘masjid’
is derived from the Arabic root ‘sajada’ or ‘sujud’, which means to prostrate or to do a sincere act of worship for Allah. Hence, the mosque serves as a place of worship where Muslims can bow and prostrate in adoration of Allah SWT.
In light of this, Muslims can worship practically anywhere. However, mosques are intentionally constructed to make it easier for Muslims to devote their lives to Allah S.W.T. The Quran views this as an extraordinary quality of the devout believers and saints, praising their capacity to prostrate (Dewiyanti et al., 2016; Baharudin et al., 2012). The Quran expressly mentions the following: “The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.” - (Surah At-Taubah: 18). Therefore, the mosque is acknowledged as the sacred building by referencing the hadith. Mosque is built as a unique and extraordinary building which requires the blessing of Allah S.W.T., and participation from all Muslims to be completely functional.
2. Literature Review
According to Brundtland (1987), sustainability is defined as ‘development that satisfies present demands without compromising the potential of future generations to satisfy their own needs.’
Based on the concept, Roaf (2005) argues that some important indications merit special attention in order to achieve sustainable of a building which are ‘How much energy does the property use?’, ‘how durable are the building functions?’, ‘how adaptive are these functions over time?’, and ‘how happy are the occupants, and how much happier can they be made?’.
Mahazan (2013) asserts that a mosque is mostly dependent on the human aspect to prosper.
accessibility to training and management tools are the most frequent requirements for successful implementation of SFM. According to the findings, it was anticipated that this study would emphasise the significance of using SFM strategy in mosque administration in order to help mosques become more long-term viable.
Keywords: facilities management (FM), sustainable facilities management (SFM), mosques facilities, sustainable mosque, mosque function.
It might be argued that a mosque that satisfies a Muslim’s demands and requirements will entice or draw Muslims to it. There are two congregational groups that participate in mosque management and help the mosque thrive including the congregation as well as the mosque's administrators and staff (Singapore Islamic Religious Council, 2005).
The Maslow hierarchy of requirements has been offered as a conceptualization of human needs.
According to the hypothesis, individuals who grew up in environments where their needs were addressed are more likely to function as healthy people. It demonstrates how motivational factors have a significant impact on how people behave or think. Amaratunga (2002) claim that facilities have a great impact on organisation performance. Thus, inadequate facilities translate to poor performance in which affected the whole operations of an organisation.
Khalit (2011) observed that the mosque's ability to operate efficiently was constrained by insufficient facilities, which lends support to this. Because of this, it makes it more difficult for a recent mosque in Malaysia to fulfil its position as a shrine during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad S. A. W. Additionally, poor programme planning for different target groups in the mosque is caused by inadequate facility provision (Khalit, 2011). As a result, the congregation's likelihood to visit a mosque will likely decrease if the mosque provides poor service (Mahazan, 2013; Mustari et al, 2010). As a result, in order to maintain mosque operations in the midst of the modern world's changes, mosque management should strive to increase congregation happiness and decrease their dissatisfaction.
According to Sapri et al. (2009), the quality of the facilities is a crucial factor that must be taken into account when providing services. They asserted that extremely satisfied clients are likely to spread the word about the institutions favourably, bringing in new customers at a reduced cost. Allia et al. (2013) emphasised the need for a strategic management plan to transform the mosque into a multifunctional institution that focuses on the human aspect as the capital.
Therefore, the adoption of efficient FM in the context of mosque is necessary.
In meantime, sustainability requires a paradigm shift in management, technology adoption, and end-user behaviour (Elmualim et al., 2009). The FM profession can play a crucial part in accomplishing the aforementioned goal by convincing the organization's management hierarchy and end users to recognise the significance and impact of sustainable development (Shah, 2007). Managing the building's facilities and services while acting as a positive role model for others requires proactive FM specialists.
In order to give a precise view on sustainability in facilities management, Junghans (2011) created an SFM Model as the fundamental framework for sustainable facility management (see Figure 1). To clarify the need for SFM, the model demonstrates how primary processes, space and infrastructure, people, and organisation are integrated.
2.1 Problem Statement
The growing number of mosques has created a new issue in mosque management, necessitating the implementation of an efficient system. Many say that well-managed services enable an organisation to operate at its most efficient and effective level, adding significant value to the company's core business while increasing flexibility. As a result, the management of sustainable facilities (SFM) is an option mosque management should take into consideration and this is believed to be a strategy that will aid the mosque in maintaining its operations.
Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyse the factors involved in managing sustainable mosque facilities.
Figure 1: Sustaianble Facility Management (SFM) Model Source: Junghans (2011)
3. Method
The objective of this study is to analyse the factors involved in managing sustainable mosque facilities. Consequently, the foundation of this paper is a thorough analysis of recent literature on sustainable facilities management and mosque buildings. where the keywords employed more on factors of SFM, drivers and implementation. A total of 30 publications were found with the help of keywords. This list of articles was compiled by considering studies that add to the study’s goal for further investigation. Data obtained from the literature review were then analyses using frequency analysis to identify the most common factors for successful implementation of SFM. A frequency analysis indicates how often a factor appears in the literature. The actual number of occurrences for each factor is determined, as well as the percentage of scenes in the sample that the number reflects.
4. Results and Discussion
The distribution of SFM factors, which was determined after a thorough literature review, is shown in Figure 2. According to the data, the government's adoption of strict laws has emerged as the most crucial requirement for the success of SFM implementation because it occurs the most frequently (17%). In the meantime, the firm's sustainability policy (11%) is a crucial factor to take into account in order to guarantee that SFM is properly implemented within an organisation. In addition, the top management's involvement, the facilities manager's dedication and level of training, and the availability of training and management tools, all of which received scores of around 8%, were seen as critical factors that enabled the attainment of SFM. The remaining three criteria—collaboration between FM and customer- oriented practises, raising awareness of the significance of sustainability, and empowering regulatory bodies—all received less than 8% of the total points. The factors are also thought to be important for obtaining SFM in an organisation, despite the fact that the score is less than 8%.
Collaboration between FM and customer- or user-
oriented practise 6 Facilities managers should have access to training
and management tools 8 Raise awareness of the importance of
sustainability 6 Regulatory bodies should be empowered
3 Involvement of top management
8
Facilities managers who are committed and well-
trained 8 The government should establish severe
legislation. 17 Sustainability policy of the organisation
11
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Figure 2: Factors Involved in Managing Sustainable Mosques Facilities
5. Conclusion
A prayer space intended for Allah, The Almighty, is referred to as a ‘mosque’. With the actual structure, it has nothing to do. Because of this, mosque building should be effective in terms of both uses and the main purpose for which it was built. Diverse religious activities should be blooming at the mosque. The execution of those actions necessitates the support of infrastructure in order to be operational. It emphasises how crucial it is to take FM strategy into account. In other words, a thorough strategy should be developed with a focus on SFM implementation in order to strengthen the mosque as a solid institution acting as a community hub. To ensure that a long-term effort for the benefits is beneficial, this would promote best practises in mosque administration and lead to the provision of better facilities in the future.
According to a thorough review of the literature, the government must establish strict regulations, the organisation must have a sustainability policy, the facilities manager must be dedicated and well-trained, senior management staff must be involved, and training and management resources must be easily accessible. According to the findings, it was anticipated that this study would emphasise the significance of using SFM strategy in mosque administration in order to help mosques become more long-term viable
6. Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge and express appreciation to the funder of this research project, the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Encouragement Research (UTMER), managed by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under Vot No: Q.J130000.3852.20J03.
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