18
Islamic Tourism
@ Halal | September-October . 2021
The mosque can also highlight its heritage . For instance , when the Minangkabau people came to Negri Sembilan , this was the first mosque that they built .”
— Abdul Halim
Abdul Halim Ali Hassan Council member of the Malaysian Institute of Planners ( MIP ) Director of City Expo Malaysia1 .
BY FATIHAH MANAF
Emphasis
Unique storylines are the essence of mosque tourism
MOSQUES ARE an essential component in Malaysian neighbourhoods . These dome-shaped buildings can be seen in every part of the country . As it is common to have at least one mosque in every locality , the locals view these places merely as a place to perform prayers .
Going back to the mosque ’ s history , Town Planner Abdul Halim Ali Hassan , the council member of the Malaysian Institute of Planners ( MIP ) shared that mosques have always played multiple roles aside from being a place of worship .
He said : “ As with other worshipping places , mosques served as an area for community engagement , community gatherings ,
on storytelling
a place to uphold justice whenever there ’ s a dispute , educational centre and rehabilitation institute .”
Unfortunately , mosques today are often viewed only as a praying area . According to Abdul Halim , Malaysian mosques should utilise and optimise space just as town planners do in city planning .
“ Mosques , if they are fully utilised , can be one of the best tourist attractions , a mustvisit in Malaysia ,” said the town planner .
However , it is pretty challenging to push the idea of mosque tourism , especially to the local communities , unless the mosques offer their visitors a package of exciting themes and history .
Abdul Halim opined that in making mosques a tourist attraction , Malaysia needed to learn from other countries . He believed that with the right concepts , themes , and storylines , this tourism segment could slowly
gain traction in Malaysia .
“ We can take a look at the Blue Mosque in Turkey . It is one of the most visited mosques in the world . If you go there , you can feel the grandeur of the building .
“ The designs , domes and materials are all mesmerising . The historical part plays a role in attracting tourists ,” said Abdul Halim .
He then gave another example of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi .
“ In Sheikh Zayed , there are three selling points . One of them is that it has the world ’ s largest carpet , which took them two years to finish . This is the kind of storyline that it promotes .”
From a town planner ’ s perspective , he believed it was important for mosques to have this storytelling element before inviting Muslim and non-Muslim tourists .
“ If you have no story to share , it will be hard to appeal to these people ,” he added .
He shared that town planners will consider a few elements such as population catchment , mosque hierarchy , and geographical settings in mosque planning .
He emphasised the need for a mosque to optimise its role and space and act as a community centre surrounded by economic activities .
Themes are essential for tourist attraction
Abdul Halim said the main objective of promoting mosques as a tourist attraction was to avoid people ’ s misunderstandings about Islam . He said mosque was the best place for these people to learn about Islam , in the sense that it will help clear their misconceptions about the religion .
He said : “ Some people misunderstood . They said Islam is promoting terrorism , aggressiveness and Muslims are too radical . The claims are untrue . Islam is a peaceful religion .”
However , to push mosques as a tourist attraction , Abdul Halim highlighted that Malaysian mosques must have themes and offerings different from other mosques .
“ In approaching the tourists , mosques must have their themes . For example , a mosque might have a historical theme , promoting itself as the oldest in the State or the country . It would be best if you had a storyline . Only then people will become interested in coming .
“ The mosque can also highlight its heritage . For instance , when the Minangkabau people came to Negri Sembilan , this was the first mosque that they built .
“ It can highlight the designs . Maybe the design and architecture are unique . It can be traditional Malay designs , Chinese designs etc .
“ Or maybe it is the first green mosque which uses renewable energy ,” he added .
Abdul Halim also acknowledged one of the challenges to the Malaysian mosques in mosque tourism was the absence of expertise to advise them on the necessary actions .
“ They have to get input from professionals , be it on the programme , initiatives , marketing . They cannot just rely on themselves to improve this segment .”