Every Ramadhan, hundreds of Muslims in Singapore gather at a number of void decks.
They set up lights, lay carpets on the ground and large cloths to demarcate male and female sections, and come together every night after breaking fast (iftar) to pray.
Non-Muslims can now check these prayer (or terawih) spaces out, courtesy of a project by architecture masters student Fauzy Ismail and freelance photographer Zakaria Zainal.
Called “Our Musollah”, the two spent their Ramadhan (fasting month) documenting details and the colours of the people in these spaces, as well as their fascinating histories, and the communities that have sprung up as a result of them.
Here are some of the more interesting things we learn from some 17 Terawih spaces featured on their Facebook page:
These spaces are created every year during the Ramadan, to accommodate the elderly or working adults. Some find it inconvenient to travel to the nearest mosque as it could be roughly half an hour journey away:
Some pray outside the void deck space, too, even though most prefer to pray inside for privacy.
We learned that these spaces are not simply visited by elderly, but also feature youth, who volunteer their time to help out in small ways:
Today, we acknowledge the contributions young Muslims all over Singapore during Ramadan, whether at the mosque or musollahs at void decks.
Students such as Azhrul, Faris, Khidir, Hyder and Syazwan who contribute every night by folding prayer mats and keeping them in storage. No contribution is too small.
Neutral spaces like these keep the youth rooted to the community that they belong to. They contribute however they can, sincerely.
Clockwise from top left: Azhrul, 16 (Loyang Secondary School); Faris, 16 (Siglap Secondary School); Khidir, 17 (ITE College East), Hyder, 16 (Loyang Secondary School), Syazwan, 10 (Gongshang Primary School).
Do you know of any other Singapore Muslim youths with amazing stories to share?
It’s also a place for father and son bonding:
“The most important thing is winning over the youth.”
After Allahyarham Ustaz Jumaat Yadi’s death, Yusoff Subri Bin Abdul Ghafoor (right) continued running the musollah at 724 Jurong West Street 72 with his neighbors.
With the encouragement of his son, undergraduate Muhammad Ashraf (left), they started inviting the young locally-trainined Singaporean imams – who might be overlooked elsewhere – to lead the congregation in prayers.
The space is nostalgic for the 58-year-old who saw the space evolve from using plastic rugs to carpets, as well as seeing the community grow up with him. The Nestle storekeeper lives two blocks away.
Satisfaction, for Yusoff Subri is seeing residents praying together every night during Ramadan. For father and son, to keep this space going, the most important thing is winning over the youth.
Kamran (centre) hails from Karachi, Pakistan. He has lived in Singapore for over 10 years and is now a Permanent Resident.
His twin sons, Umer and Usman, both 17, are currently doing their ‘A’ Levels at Saint Andrews’ Junior College – and represent the JC at badminton.
When walking around the Bedok Reservoir neighbourhood where he lives, he discovered this space.
Previously, he used to perform his tarawih prayers at Masjid Al-Taqwa or Masjid Al-Ansar which is about 30 minutes by public transport. Now it is just a five minute walk.
Some will be closing down after this year, because new mosques will be built nearby. Like this one:
“It will be bittersweet to see the place go.”
This may be the last year residents at 724 Jurong West Street 72 would have their congregational prayers together after 20 years. With a new mosque, Masjid Maarof, just two bus-stops away
With the new mosque (Masjid Maarof) ready in December, they feel that this might be their last year doing tarawih together. However, these volunteers feel it is important to continue, for the elderly and the community.
For them, the space is nostalgic because residents have seen children grow up together and also the many suppers after terawih. It will be bittersweet to see the place go.
Like many of the musollah spaces where tarawih prayers are conducted, Block 647B Jurong West St 61 was set up as a response to the demolition of Masjid Majapahit in 2000.
When they set this space up, they had no mosque. They set this up for the comfort and accessibility of its residents.
The aged volunteers have decided that this year would be their last.
The group of seven volunteers vary from their late 50s to late 70s. They used to hold more events within the neighborhood outside of Ramadan such as Maulidul Rasul.
In addition to tarawih, they would occasionally do their dawn prayers together during Ramadan and on most nights, religious lectures taking place after tarawih.
Closer to Hari Raya, more young people would come to volunteer to set up and prepare the musollah. However, this is insufficient manpower to continue running the space.
But many Muslims who pray at these spaces cherish it for the community they have gained over the years:
Muhammad Hiddir has lived in Tampines since he was two. His wife Musfirah moved from Jurong East to Tampines since they got married.
Hiddir, 33, likes this space because it is close to home. When he prays at 450 Tampines Street 42, he gets to meet his neighbors and childhood friends. Hiddir felt attached to this space and the many memories created since he was in secondary school. The SMRT station manager grew up with his friends, and is now witnessing his friend’s children growing up too.
Once, he recalled how his friends would meet at night after tarawih prayers. They would simply lepak at the void deck because they could not afford to drink at the coffee shop.Now that they are married or busy with work, they seldom meet.
However, if someone were to go, they would text: “Eh korang pergi block 450 tak?”
Musfirah, 29, believes very much in the community spirit that tarawih spaces bring. She wants others to feel that such things in the community and Ramadan should be commonplace.
As former students from Masjid Majapahit in Boon Lay – demolished in 2000 – these girls regularly perform their tarawih prayers at Block 978/979 Jurong West St 93.
They have attended this musollah for over 10 years.
“I have been here since I was 12. Now I’m 28, so it’s been at least 16 years,” one of them said. Once, they would attend with their parents – now they would attend these prayers with their friends.
Though they never knew each other well enough when they were students, they now have a Whatsapp chat group – giving updates on days they would turn up for prayers.
This would be their last year praying together here.
They are sad that they have to leave this space and travel further to a mosque. The tarawih space at the void deck is more convenient but the mosque would have a greater concession to accommodate more people and hopefully encourage people to do tarawih in congregation.
Faezah’s mother Cik Kalsom prefers this space over the mosque because it is nearer to her house and doesn’t take as much time to travel. They are delighted regardless in getting a new mosque because they have been without one for over 16 years.
For now, these girls will pray at this space and continue seeing familiar faces – the makcik, pakcik and friends in the neighbourhood – that make up the musollah.
They know everyone, even the extended family. It is a bittersweet moment for them.
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Last Row (L-R): Suhada, Nasuha
Middle Row (L-R): Suziane, Nur Zaida, Nurhidaya
Front Row (L-R): Faezah, Nurul, Cik Kalsom
And at some of these terawih spaces, the Muslims do more than just coming together to pray:
For over 30 years, Bedok North residents are fortunate to have a space to perform their tarawih prayers. They were once at Block 105 and then Block 401, before making Block 113 Bedok North Street Two home.
When they started at Block 105, the space was chosen because it was away from the prying eyes of the public – as well as giving privacy to residents praying. In time, as authorities and other residents became more open, the choice of space has become less of a hindrance.
Despite a simple set up lasting a month, preparations are made before Ramadan. Occasionally, if there are requests or invites, they would have Islamic lectures at the void deck and other events such as Israk Mikraj or Maulidur Rasul.
Sometimes, they would even arrange visits to an orphanage in Malaysia as a community. The volunteers used to hold madrasah classes for children in the vicinity but now they only have tarawih sessions.
As volunteers get older, they could no longer set up the space on their own. They would outsource manpower to do the setting up. What is great however, the contractor managed to create a set-up that is to their liking – making residents feel like home. Even for the daily set-up and preparation of the space, they have to outsource to foreign workers.
This space has strong support from the Muslimah (female Muslims). They would make porridge and distribute it to their neighborhood. In addition to that, they help make drinks for the congregants to enjoy after prayers.
They work together closely with Masjid Ansar in Bedok to help the community by giving hampers to low-income families through their iftar programme.
Congregants are delighted to know that their MP in Fengshan supports the use of this space for such occasions now.
Despite knowledge of some of the prayer spaces closing down after this year, Fauzy tells Mothership.sg he hopes this practice will continue for as long as possible.
“It’s a community space,” he says. “We see our neighbours beyond daily greeting. You pray with them, talk to them and you build relations with them. It’s like reliving the kampong spirit for the older residents when they used to have surau (a place for Islamic worship that isn’t at the level of a mosque) in their kampong.”
He also hopes more young Muslims will join tewarih prayers at these spaces in order to keep it going, as many of these are lacking in manpower to sustain them.
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Top image courtesy of Zakaria Zainal and Fauzy Ismail, for the Our Musollah project.
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