Transforming Mosque as a disaster relief centre in Malaysia environment

The role and function of mosque as a disaster relief centre in managing disasters is a bit unfamiliar among Malaysians due to the society's perception that its sole function as a centre of worship. Most of disaster relief operations or humanitarian assistances were focused on other public facilities such as community councils, community centre, schools and etc. This perspective is somehow differs from the situation in other countries where the mosques are regards as a coordination centres of assistance during a disaster or emergency. The conformity role of mosques as a disaster management centre in a community is influenced by several factors such as coordination centre for disaster governance, adequate logistics support, compliance with Islamic practice, effective communicator, and psychological needs for disaster victims. However, such role or function has been given less attention by researchers, especially in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to propose a comprehensive guide in utilising the mosque as a community centre for disaster management in Malaysia. This exploratory study is conducted qualitatively by combining interviews, focus group discussions, observation and document analysis.