Surau

Late 19th-century village mosque ( surau nagari ) of Lubuk Bauk in Batipuh , West Sumatra . A modern Surau Surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, its ritual functions are similar to a mosque, allow men and women, and are used more for religious instruction and festive prayers. They depend more on grassroots support and funding. They can be compared to the Arab zawiya . In Minangkabau society, they continued pre-Islamic traditions of a men's house where veneration of the dead occurred, and are built on high posts. In contemporary usage, "surau" is often used to refer to either a small mosque, or a designated room in a public building (such as a shopping mall, a university, or a rest stop along a highway) for men or women to do salah .

Muslim prayer room A modern Surau A surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, its ritual functions are similar to a mosque, allow men and women, and are used more for religious instruction and festive prayers. They depend more on grassroots support and funding. They can be compared to the Arab zawiya . In Minangkabau society, they continued pre-Islamic traditions of a men's house, and are built on high posts. In contemporary usage, "surau" is often used to refer to either a small mosque, or a designated room in a public building (such as a shopping mall, a university, or a rest stop along a highway) for men or women to do salah .