Congregational mosque

[4] "Congregational" is used to translate jāmi‘ (جَامِع), which comes from the Arabic root "ج - م - ع" which has a meaning ‘to bring together’ or ‘to unify’ (verbal form: جمع and يجمع).

'assembly, gathering'), a term which refers to the Friday noon prayers (Arabic: صَلَاة الْجُمُعَة, romanized: ṣalāṫ al-jumu‘ah, lit.

In fact, in some parts of the Islamic world such as in Egypt, Friday services were initially not permitted in villages and in other areas outside the main city where the congregational mosque stood.

[13] The minbar, a kind of pulpit from which the khutbah was traditionally given, also became a standard feature of congregational mosques by the early Abbasid period (late eighth century).

[14][15] Until the emergence of the madrasa as a distinct institution during the 11th century, the congregational mosque was also the main venue for religious education by hosting halqas (study circles).

The Abbasid caliphs, who had by the mid-10th century had lost all political power, retained the privilege of designating congregational mosques in the city and of appointing their preachers.

[17] A similar proliferation of congregational mosques occurred in the cities of Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Morocco, as well as in the newly conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) under Ottoman rule.