Contemporary political roles
The late twentieth century saw an increase in the number of mosques used for political purposes. Today, civic participation is commonly promoted in mosques in the Western world, Because of the importance in the community, Masajid (Mosques) are used for preaching peaceful co-existence with other non-believers even in times of adversity.
Advocacy
Countries where Muslims comprise only a minority of the population are more likely than the Muslim-majority countries of the Greater Middle East to use mosques as a way to promote civic participation.American mosques host voter registration and civic participation drives that promote involving Muslims, who are often first- or second-generation immigrants, in the political process.
As a result of these efforts as well as attempts at mosques to keep Muslims informed about the issues facing the Muslim community, regular mosque attendants are more likely to participate in protests, sign petitions, and otherwise be involved in politics.
Nevertheless, a link between political views and mosque attendance can still be seen in other parts of the world. A study done in May 1999 by an Israeli group Jerusalem Media and Communications Center indicated that Palestinians are more likely to advocate suicide bombings and rebellions against Israeli occupation.
Following the al-Askari Mosque bombing in February 2006, imams and other Islamic leaders used mosques and Friday prayers as vehicles to call for calm and peace in the midst of widespread violence.
During the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in February 2006, leaders at mosques determined the reaction of their congregants. While some leaders in South Asia and the Middle East called for more violent reactions to cartoons irreverently depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, other leaders within the region and around the world called for more restrained anger; in both situations, the congregants of their respective mosques reacted accordingly.
Beginning in the late twentieth century and continuing into the early twenty-first century, a small number of mosques have also become the platforms of some extremist imams to advocate terrorism and extreme Islamic ideals. Finsbury Park Mosque in London is exemplary of a mosque that has been used in this manner. The mosque has been linked to several convicted and suspected terrorists, including Zacarias Moussaoui, Richard Reid, and Abu Doha.
The mosque's former imam, Abu Hamza al-Masri, preached support for al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden even after al-Masri was banned from preaching at the mosque in February 2003.[36] At least two of the bombers in the 7 July 2005 London bombings also met at another mosque in London, the Stratford Street mosque. Similarly, Omar Abdel-Rahman, who often delivered sermons at New York City area mosques, was convicted of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Saudi influence
( click to enlarge - King Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan,by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, was financed by approximately 1976 SAR130 million (2006 US$120 million)from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Although the Saudi involvement in mosques around the world can be traced back to the 1960s, it was not until later in the twentieth century that the government of Saudi Arabia began to become a large influence in foreign mosques.
Beginning in the 1980s, the Saudi Arabian government began to finance the construction of mosques in countries around the world. An estimated US$45 billion has been spent by the Saudi Arabian government financing mosques and Islamic schools in foreign countries. Ain al-Yaqeen, a Saudi newspaper, reported in 2002 that Saudi funds may have contributed to building as many as 1,500 mosques and 2,000 other Islamic centers in countries where Muslims are not the majority.
Saudi citizens have also contributed significantly to mosques in the Islamic world, especially in countries where they see Muslims as poor and oppressed. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, in 1992, mosques in impoverished Afghanistan saw many contributions from Saudi citizens. The King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy in Rome represent two of Saudi Arabia's largest investments in foreign mosques as former Saudi king Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud contributed US$8 million and US$50 million to the two mosques, respectively.
The majority of Muslims and the government in Saudi Arabia adhere to a form of Islam known as Wahhabism that promotes a strict adherence to Islamic law. As a result, many countries where funding from Saudi Arabia is going to Islamic centers believe Saudi Arabia is exporting extreme fundamentalist views. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, countries have also paid more attention to Saudi funding as they fear part of the funding may be going to terrorist groups through foreign mosques.